Early identification of victims of torture The IRCT’s recommendations to ensure the early identification of VoTs within national asylum procedures are the following: • Define clearly the obligation for the early identification of VoTs in national asylum legislation; • Provide mechanisms for the identification of VoTs as soon as the asylum application is received; • Provide training to immigration officials in particular, but in general to any stakeholder involved in the asylum process, to be able to identify VoTs and recognise the symptoms and signs exhibited by victims of past torture or trauma so that a VoT can be referred to an independent health expert for an MLR, where required. Is anything being done to improve the early identification and treatment of VoTs within national asylum procedures? As discussed in the introduction to this report, the early identification of VoTs or other traumatic events within national asylum procedures is critical to enable the individual to access the appropriate support, which will allow them to present their asylum application as fully as possible from the initial stage. However, the findings in Part 2 of the report demonstrate that there is a general lack of national legislation to clearly define a state’s obligations to identify VoTs early on in the asylum procedure, and enable access to the assistance required to be able to present medical evidence of a standard that meets international guidelines and which supports the alleged traumatic events. In addition, the Committee against Torture’s General Comment No.3 on Article 14 emphasises that state parties to UNCAT have obligations to provide asylum-seekers and refugees as full a rehabilitation as possible when they enter the territory of a state, even if the harm suffered is not attributable to that state. States have clear obligations to provide asylum-seekers and refugees with access to holistic rehabilitation, which includes not only medical and psychological care, but also legal and social services. State parties to the UNCAT should, according to the Committee, “adopt a long-term, integrated approach and ensure that specialist services for victims of torture or ill-treatment are available, appropriate and readily accessible. These should include a procedure for the assessment and evaluation of individuals’ therapeutic and other needs, based on, inter alia, the Istanbul Protocol”.97 Do the changes in the EU Reception Conditions Directive (RCD) go far enough in ensuring VoTs are identified early on in asylum procedures? Changes in the EU: the recast EU Reception Conditions Directive (RCD) In the EU, as part of the second phase of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the EU Council, the European Commission and European Parliament negotiated amendments to improve standards in the Reception Conditions Directive (RCD).98 The renegotiated RCD was formally adopted in June 2013, after which EU Member States have two years to transpose the new provisions into national law.99 ... Recognising victims of torture in national asylum procedures / 55