“ Rehabilitation supports survivors of violence to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. For Denmark, rehabilitation services are positive investments benefiting the individual, his or her family as well as the wider community.” H.E. Mr. Carsten Staur, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations in Geneva, 2018 Mexico (State-run services) The General Law for Victims came into effect in 2013 and aims to protect the rights of victims of crime and human rights abuses. The law establishes the Executive Commission of Attention to Victims, (CEAV) to provide victims with reparation for the harm caused, and with protection and confidentiality, access to justice and legal assistance, and access to specialized treatment to ensure physical and psychological rehabilitation. The law also establishes a national registry of victims and mechanisms to set aside funds to compensate them, funded in part by the assets seized from organized crime groups. The CEAV came into existence in January 2014 and has offices spread across the country. In 2017, parts of the law were revised to make the delivery of support to victims more efficient, by strengthening the capacity of the CEAV. The revised law aims to optimize access to assistance for victims, to enable victims to access independent expert reports to document their allegations, and to provide for the active participation of civil society organisations, victims groups and academics in implementing the law. Georgia: State financed projects implemented by non-State rehabilitation centres In 2014, the Ministry of Justice’s crime prevention centre awarded a grant to the Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) – a non-governmental organization – to provide psychosocial and medical rehabilitation services to former prisoners (adult and juvenile) who had encountered severe traumatic experiences, including torture, during their imprisonment. In total, 105 former prisoners received holistic rehabilitation services in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. The project involved individual work with clients, as well as short-term group intervention with small groups of individuals (eight people per group for the duration of ten sessions). In 2015 and 2016, the reserve fund of the President of Georgia awarded two grants to GCRT for rehabilitation and re-socialization of former prisoners pardoned by the President. The project provided immediate living arrangements for several days after leaving the prisons (in case of individuals who did not have a place to go to) and included individuals in various vocational trainings and psychosocial and medical rehabilitation. Sixty per cent of the individuals concerned had been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment in the penitentiary facilities. “ Recidivism among former prisoners who participated in our program has decreased by up to 96 per cent. We managed to assist 3,345 former prisoners, who were the victims of degrading treatment for many years, to strengthen themselves to overcome the challenges, fight against stigma and discrimination, rehabilitate and re-socialize within general population and their own families. During the last five years, they have benefited from different services: 823 benefited from medical services, while 106 business ideas of 108 beneficiaries (24 women) were financially supported by the program. Notably, 103 business initiatives are still successfully operating. In addition, the program created a unique platform to involve and further strengthen co-operation with civil society organizations with relevant backgrounds and services.” H.E. Ms. Thea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice of Georgia, 2018 TOOL: Providing Rehabilitation to Victims of Torture and Other Ill-treatment 7/13