The updated handbook also covers the evolution of case law, pinpointing settled and emerging jurisprudential approaches regarding the nature and substance of the obligations contained in Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as well as the content of procedural duties and the scope of reparations for victims of torture. This expanded body of case law demonstrates how the African Human Rights System is evolving into an effective tool in the fight against torture and ill-treatment. Nevertheless, significant difficulties currently faced by Commission and Court cannot be overlooked. The updated edition of the Handbook should also help to build the capacity of practitioners and civil society organisations to enhance the strengths and overcome the challenges of the African Human Rights System. We hope that this publication will be of practical help to lawyers, human rights defenders and the members of the SOS torture network of the OMCT across the African continent. We thereby encourage them to contribute to closing the implementation gap and bringing us closer to the legal promise that indeed ‘nothing can justify torture under any circumstances’. Gerald Staberock Secretary General 2014 7