Preface Local organisations working on torture often possess a wealth of information and knowledge about torture in their country through their on-going and direct contact with victims. This information can be very useful as a basis for advocating for changes to domestic law and practice to ensure rehabilitation, justice and prevention of torture. United Nations treaty bodies such as the Committee against Torture (the Committee), in particular its State review procedure, can provide useful support to existing domestic advocacy initiatives by bringing international attention and legitimacy to issues already being advanced domestically. International mechanisms can provide an additional push in the right direction, but this will only happen if their engagement with the States concerned is based on quality information and if they have sufficient guidance on the key priorities within the national context. To achieve this, the Committee needs reliable data and case examples to illustrate systemic issues, and it needs contextual information to better prioritise and target its interventions. Torture rehabilitation organisations and other organisations working on torture and ill-treatment at the domestic level are very well placed to produce this type of information and guidance. Therefore, the Committee solicits information from local organisations at various stages throughout its review of a State. It is our hope that this guide will help empower human rights advocates at the local level to effectively use the Committee’s State review process to promote domestic change. In recognition that the process is complicated and that many organisations have difficulties accessing decision makers in Geneva, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) is implementing a programme to support our member organisations and partners with this part of the process. Through our office in Geneva, we are supporting our members with the preparation of alternative reports to the Committee, presentation of the report and its recommendations to the Committee in Geneva, and the national advocacy for the implementation of the treaty body recommendations. The IRCT currently focuses on engaging with the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee. We also provide various forms of support to engage with the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council. Engaging with State reviews in the UN Committee against Torture: A practical guide 5