ment of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, “The changes will deprive refugees of basic physical and mental health care… Refugees who have suffered inhumane treatment and trauma in their own countries… will now also encounter systemic barriers to care.”144 As part of the cuts to health care, psychological services provided to VoTs are no longer available for refugees, including the services provided by some of the IRCT member centres in Canada. The coverage of psychotherapy for VoTs has been eliminated, for anything other than public safety concerns. As the Canadian Council for Refugees points out, “This leaves deeply traumatised refugees without specialised support as they struggle to get back on their feet. The rationale for cutting these services was that refugees should not get health services that are not provided to citizens. But most Canadians (thankfully) have not been subjected to torture, nor had traumatising experiences of war.” It is noted that cutting support to traumatised refugees in Canada is inconsistent with the Canadian government’s support of psychosocial services for traumatised persons overseas, through funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).145 The USA – Torture Victims Relief Act provides some funding opportunities The Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 (TVRA) is an example of national legislation introduced to provide funding through a competitive grant process to rehabilitation centres to offer a comprehensive programme of support for VoTs. The legislation recognises that a significant number of refugees and asylum-seekers entering the USA have suffered torture and are in need of rehabilitation services in order to become fully integrated and productive members of the community. The funding provides grants to a range of services, including rehabilitative treatment for the physical and psychological effects of torture, social and legal services, research and training for health-care providers outside of treatment centres. Clients are determined as eligible for the Services for Survivors of Torture Program based on the definition of torture in accordance with the TVRA authorising legislation.146 Despite this legislation, rehabilitation centres have to seek diversified funding to cover the costs of providing comprehensive services to VoTs. Many of IRCT´s member centres in the USA face inadequate sources of funding, and there is some inconsistency with which centres receive funding via the legislation. In addition, member centres report that the government agency that has oversight of the TVRA does not have experience working with asylum-seekers and, as such, is limited in its expertise with regard to clients’ forensic needs. The funding of rehabilitation services for VoTs poses a continuous challenge to IRCT and its member centres. The Committee against Torture’s General Comment on Article 14 UNCAT makes clear that states have an obligation to provide for “as full rehabilitation as possible”. This includes to asylumseekers and refugees and the obligation does not relate to the available resources and may not be postponed. In addition, the General Comment indicates that the obligation to provide rehabilitative services should either be directly by the state, or through the funding of private medical, legal and other facilities, including those administered by NGOs.147 Unfortunately, very few states yet comply with these obligations, thus leaving NGOs to struggle to obtain sufficient funding to provide the necessary rehabilitation to VoTs. 68 / Recognising victims of torture in national asylum procedures