Last year on June 26, CVT hosted a number of events to commemorate UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Below is a brief description of CVT events held across the world to honor and recognize survivors of torture in our communities.

Minnesota

“Our task today is not simply clinical, not simply to heal the wounds, not simply to prevent the new wounds from happening. Our task today is to end torture in the service of global civil society,” declared Steven Miles, M.D. last year on June 26. Miles, author of Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror and a bioethicist, spoke at the Minneapolis Healing Center to commemorate United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. (Photo: Stephanie Hynes)

June 26 is the anniversary of the Convention Against Torture and has been honored worldwide since 1998. CVT led events around the world to show solidarity with and support for torture survivors, and to promote the ultimate goal of a torture-free world.

Messages of hope and healing were collected in Minneapolis and planted with a tree in the hope they would grow. (Photo: Stephanie Hynes)

Washington D.C.

In Washington, D.C. Alberto Mora, former general counsel of the United States Navy received CVT’s Eclipse Award for his work in preventing torture of individuals held in American military detention facilities.

In his acceptance speech, Mora called on the public to stand firm in opposing the United States’ use of cruelty and inhuman treatment of detainees. “If we adopt the policy of cruelty it is to say that we wish to live in a world that will be very different than the world we have wished to construct over the last half century. And this is because our country, our laws, our constitution, our foreign policy and our security strategy all pivot around the principle of individual human dignity protected as a matter of right, not as a matter of government’s grace or volition.”

Sierra Leone

Across the Atlantic, Sierra Leoneans joined together against torture in Tombudu, a site of mass killings in the Kono district. Carrying signs and wearing shirts proclaiming the anti-torture message “Together Against Torture,” police officers, teachers, youth groups, women and military officers joined with other community members in a march to Tombudu town hall for speeches. School children performed skits dramatizing the events of the war, CVT psychosocial counselors sang songs denouncing torture and young people read poetry.

The group then walked in a candlelit procession to pay their respects at the Tombudu War Memorial. Muslim and Christian leaders offered prayers for peace while a traditional religious leader offered prayers and libation for those killed in Tombudu. The commemoration ended with a video of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone.

Democratic Republic of Congo

In Pweto in the Democratic Republic of Congo, CVT staff coordinated a full day of events to honor the UN Convention Against Torture. The morning began with a motor parade that led to the local CVT office for a series of speeches by clinicians, local children and community members. To show their commitment to human rights and decry the use of torture, guests were invited to sign a copy of Article 2 of the UN Convention Against Torture. Because CVT is new to the community, the audience had the opportunity to ask about trauma, CVT, and healing services. A team of PSCs answered in the three languages spoken in the community--Kiswahili, French and Kibemba--so that all attendees could understand.

In the afternoon, CVT opened its doors to returnees. Clinicians were available to lead support groups, offer individual counseling and conduct community education on torture and its results.

Liberia

Nearly 400 people attended the commemorations in three communities in Bong County, Liberia. Dressed in t-shirts printed with “Stand Up, Speak Out, Stop Torture Now,” community members and CVT staff marched on main thoroughfares and listened to speeches about the UN convention and the importance of respecting human rights. A moment of silence honored those who did not survive their torture. The programs concluded with a movie segment about human rights violations in South Africa during apartheid.

The entire June 26 commemoration in Gbarnga in BongCounty was documented publicly on the radio in Monrovia, Liberia. The events were broadcast in the news headlines for two days and the CVT healing services were featured on a morning radio program, educating the community about the effects of torture and human rights.

In Lofa County, residents marched through the community to raise awareness of the day. Attendees joined in song and prayer and were reminded of the importance of the day through speeches and a visit to a mass grave site. In his keynote address, Michael Kamau, a CVT clinician/trainer rallied the community. “Let’s all join hands with CVT and support survivors of torture, and strive to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishments in Tenebu community, LofaCounty and in other counties of Liberia.”

Kamau’s words, spoken in Liberia, were echoed on June 26 in many languages and communities around the world, instilling hope for the healing of survivors and for a world that respects human dignity.