Annual Report 2023
01
Crisis response
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories
Following Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023, intense Israeli bombardment and ground operations have caused numerous civilian casualties in Gaza. The United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) released a statement to call for a ceasefire and an immediate halt to targeting civilians. OMCT supported SOS-Torture Network members and partners from Palestine in highlighting the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the worsening conditions of detention and collective punishment against Palestinians detained by Israel.
Ukraine
In 2023, the conflict in Ukraine reached a dire point, with over 30,000 casualties reported since Russia's full-scale invasion, as documented by OHCHR. Field missions conducted by OMCT, alongside partner organisations, in Eastern Ukraine in February 2023 revealed alarming findings. Ukrainian human rights defenders, supported by OMCT, documented over 200 cases of torture and related crimes in 2023. We concluded that a range of atrocities, including filtration, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and torture, amount to crimes against humanity, specifically persecution against a political group. OMCT provided two trainings on the documentation and analysis of international crimes to nine Ukrainian civil society groups.
We offered financial support to four torture survivors for legal, medical, and social assistance. Additionally, OMCT and its partners submitted two briefing notes to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. We made one submission to the Universal Periodic Review on Russia and submitted four individual cases to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Furthermore, we conducted advocacy actions at the UN Human Rights Council and the OSCE and we facilitated meetings with civil society organisations and victims during the Special Rapporteur's visit to Ukraine in September 2023.
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the Taliban's resurgence in 2021 severely curtailed civic space and access to education, particularly for girls beyond the sixth grade.
Through the PD.eu project, OMCT collaborated with its Afghan partner CSHRN to establish the Afghanistan human rights defender network in exile HRD+. Joint oral statements and side events at the 52nd, 53rd and 54th sessions of the UN Human Rights Council saw the participation of 27 Afghan human rights defenders. CSHRN/HRD+ contributed to a report about women and girls. OMCT supported CSHRN/HRD+ in developing an open letter requesting an independent investigative mechanism from the UN Human Rights Council, signed by 80 Afghan and seven international NGOs, and submitted a joint report for the Universal Periodic Review.
Some 70 Afghan human rights defenders in exile met at the Berlin Conference to discuss ways forward in addressing the country's human rights situation.
We provided an emergency grant to 25 human rights defenders at risk and helped relocate four. We also advocated for the release of human rights defenders in prison, including leading activist M. Zholia Parsi.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, before the parliamentary elections in January 2024, the government escalated its crackdown on dissenting voices. 25,000 opposition leaders and supporters faced arbitrary arrest, alleged torture, and denial of medical treatment. UATC urged authorities to put an end to torture, and with the Solidarity Group for Bangladesh, we successfully advocated for the release of human rights defenders Adil Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan from our SOS-Torture Network member Odhikar.