PREFACE ‘Nothing can justify torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under any circumstances’. The law could not be clearer on this point. Yet implementation remains the primary challenge around the world. This revision of the Practitioners’ Handbook aims to contribute to closing the implementation gap by enabling, encouraging and supporting lawyers and human rights defenders from Africa to make recourse to the African Human Rights System, including the sub-regional Courts of Justice, a foundational aspect in their litigation and anti-torture strategies. The use of torture has been prohibited through Article 5 of the African Charter and most African States have passed domestic legislation outlawing torture and ill-treatment. However, torture and other forms of ill-treatment remain pervasive amongst African countries. Although torture remains pervasive, progress has been made since the publication of the first edition of the Handbook towards ending the impunity that too often accompanies torture. Even if it is comparatively new, the African human rights system has become a valuable tool for ending such impunity. The progressive development of case law and protection measures allow human rights organisations and lawyers to use the African system for the purposes of strategic litigation seeking to redress systemic and institutional problems in their home countries. Practiced outside the public eye, torture allegations raise serious and multiple evidentiary challenges. Practiced by state officials in isolation or as part of a systemic policy, litigators find themselves confronted with a strong and misguided corps d’esprit seeking to prevent justice. Involving public opinion and sympathy, too, can be difficult if the victim is accused of serious crimes. Moreover, seeking remedies and reparation often results in threats to victims, witnesses and human rights defenders. In light of these challenges, pursuing regional remedies is often the only hope for redressing torture. The first publication of the Handbook in 2006 was drafted by Frans Viljoen and Chidi Odinkalu, authoritative experts on the African Human Rights System. While most of the initial text remains intact, this publication offers an updated edition by Lorna McGregor, international legal adviser and Director of the Human Rights Centre of the University of Essex, and Jo-Anne Prud’homme, senior researcher and legal adviser. The second edition includes a step-by-step guide to the complaint procedure before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other sub-regional bodies, as well as an explanation of the role of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 6