IRCT REGIONAL REPORT 2016 Implementation of support measures for torture victims under the Common European Asylum System The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is a legislative framework that establishes common minimum standards for national asylum legislation in EU Member States. The CEAS legislative framework includes common standards for asylum procedures,23 reception conditions,24 qualification for protection,25 fingerprinting of asylum-seekers for identification purposes,26 and determining which Member State should examine an asylum claim.27 The directives most relevant to torture victims are the Reception Conditions Directive and the Asylum Procedures Directive, which EU Member States had to transpose into national law by July 2015. The Asylum Procedures Directive aims to establish common standards and procedures for third country nationals applying for international protection in the EU (not only on EU territory but also in transit zones and in territorial waters). The Reception Conditions Directive lays down standards for the reception of asylum seekers, including access to housing, education, health care, education, employment as well as medical and psychological care. The Asylum Procedures Directive and the Reception Conditions Directive have specific provisions relevant to torture victims. Identification Both the Asylum Procedures Directives and the Reception Conditions Directive contain specific provisions for the identification of torture victims after an application for asylum has been submitted.28 The Reception Conditions Directive further stipulates that Member States must assess whether an asylum seeker has special reception needs and what those needs are.29 However, in the experience of the IRCT member centres, the EU Member States surveyed in this report are not engaging in systematised identification of torture victims. All of the member centres participating in this report stated that their governments do not have any effective identification procedures in place. The danger is that torture victims will only be identified on an ad hoc basis. Support with special reception needs should not be based on the discretion of the individual asylum case owner but should be guaranteed to all vulnerable applicants. Several tools exist to assist Member States in identifying traumatised asylum seekers with special needs, including the PROTECT30 questionnaire. Torture victims must be identified in order to receive the holistic and individually tailored rehabilitation they are entitled to under international law so they can get better rather than experience further deterioration of their physical and mental health. Furthermore, identification is the key that unlocks the door to most other special measures for torture victims, such as special procedural guarantees and access to medico-legal examination of their torture claims. This means that inefficient identification procedures render the remaining support measures inaccessible to many victims. page 39