THEMATIC REPORT 2017 REDRESS AND REPARATIONS about torture. According to Mateso, this is due to a number of reasons including a fear of reprisals or intimidation and a lack of trust in the efficiency of the legal system and its ability to protect them. In Uganda, most of ACTV’s clients choose not to file complaints about torture due to a lack of trust in the criminal justice system and a fear of reprisals by the perpetrators. It is hoped that the plan to introduce witness protection legislation (the Witness Protection Bill is currently in the final legislative stages in Parliament) would offer victims who decide to file a complaint about torture the much-needed protection against intimidation or reprisals and perhaps would encourage more torture victims to make complaints in the future. Victims use alternative avenues to seek redress Even where anti-torture legislation is in place, other avenues are often used by torture victims to seek redress which prove to be more cost or time-efficient. In Kenya, anti-torture legislation has only recently been enacted (in April 2017). To date, torture victims have used the Criminal Procedure Code to file a complaint to the police (referred to as a P3 Complaint) and seek some form of remedy including compensation or rehabilitation. The use of the Criminal Procedure Code provides the victim with an opportunity to resolve the complaint through mediation or an alternative dispute resolution process. However, the Criminal Procedure Code only covers criminal offences such as GBH and assault and does not cover torture. Therefore, the compensation awarded is commensurate with these lesser offences and not to acts of torture. In addition, although the victim may get paid compensation, the allegation of torture is not effectively investigated and the Military towers of the Crveni Krst concentration camp, Serbia. © Radiokafka / Shutterstock.com page 41

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