IRCT [to 13 December 2014]

IRCT calls on the US to ensure access to rehabilitation to the victims of the CIA torture program
10-12-2014
The IRCT calls for a firm commitment by the United States on granting reparations to the victims of the CIA torture including granting access to rehabilitation services.
The upcoming executive summary of the CIA torture report from the US Senate Intelligence Committee confirms many of the earlier claims made about CIA’s torture program post 9/11. The report reveals the repeated use of torture by the agency including threats, beatings, waterboarding, cloaking and sleep deprivation, and, most importantly, that the use of torture was unnecessary and yielded no critical intelligence on terror plots.
However, one question remains unanswered: will the victims be granted access to rehabilitation?
“The torture used by the CIA throughout the years has had a traumatic and life-changing impact on the victims, which will require multiple interventions in order to restore their dignity and enable them to be as fully functional as possible,” said Miriam Reventlow, IRCT Director of Advocacy.
Throughout the timeline of this report, and in the production of the report itself, the victims have had no say, and the reparations to the victims, including access to health-based rehabilitation and redress have not been a priority for the US government.
The victims of the CIA torture program have suffered a serious violation of their rights and have an explicit right to rehabilitation under international human rights and international humanitarian law, as referred to in Article 14 of the UN Convention against Torture.
Furthermore, the lengthy political process to release this report has created an unacceptable delay in truth and justice.
The IRCT calls on the government of the United States to fulfil its obligation under international human rights and international humanitarian law to ensure that the victims have free and prompt access to rehabilitation services.