FOREWORD ‘Nothing can justify torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under any circumstances’. International law could not be clearer on this point. Yet implementation remains the primary challenge around the world; and torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment remains sadly a reality in most regions of the world. This updated practitioner’s handbook is intended to provide a practical tool to enable, encourage, and support civil society as well as litigators to use universal human rights remedies effectively to protect victims of torture and ensure accountability, remedies, and reparations. It is fair to say that the treaty body system, such as the UN Human Rights Committee, but also the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women have developed their jurisprudence considerably and evolved in their working procedures, for example by developing follow-up measures and providing effective interim measures. The progressive development of law also allows human rights organisations and lawyers to use the universal system effectively for the purposes of strategic litigation seeking to redress systemic and institutional problems in their home countries. Notably, the remedy provided by the UN Committee against Torture remains a tool that would allow a more strategic use for developing elaborated case law for the protection against torture. Integrating remedies into the universal human rights system should concern us all as activists and lawyers as part of our regular professional work. This is because such remedies are particular important when we are concerned with torture. Practiced outside the public eye torture allegations raise serious evidentiary challenges. Whether practiced by State officials in an isolated case or worse as part of a systemic policy, litigators often find themselves confronted with a culture of silence. This can be a significant barrier to accessing justice. Mobilizing public opinion and sympathy, can also be difficult if the victim is accused of serious crimes. Furthermore seeking remedies and reparations for victims of torture often includes threats to victims, witnesses, and human rights defenders. In light of these challenges, pursuing international remedies is often the last and only realistic way of redressing torture. The parts on the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture in the first publication of this Handbook in 2006 were drafted by Sarah Joseph, a leading expert on the universal human rights system and its jurisprudence. The part on the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 6