Annual Report 2024
04

Crises Responses

Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territory

In 2024, gravely alarmed by Israel's ongoing use of collective punishment and widespread torture against Palestinians, the United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) partners issued two statements urging the international community to uphold the global and absolute ban on torture and ill-treatment. OMCT amplified these efforts by assisting Israeli and Palestinian partners in drafting submissions to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, conducting advocacy missions during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council and raising awareness on the situation of Palestinian prisoners. Additionally, a grant was awarded to a Palestinian partner to support a project aimed at advancing international accountability.

Sudan

In Sudan, OMCT continued assisting human rights defenders in exile to document grave human rights violations from a distance. OMCT also highlighted the escalating attacks on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and women's rights groups, emphasising the dangers posed by communication shutdowns and increased militarisation. OMCT's advocacy efforts aimed to bring international attention to these violations and support those affected.

Ukraine

In its third year of full-scale armed conflict, the situation of Ukrainian civilians detained or in the Russian-occupied territories remained extremely difficult. A 2024 report by OMCT, Human Rights Center ZMINA, and the Media Initiative for Human Rights presented systematic and widespread patterns of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, filtration, and related crimes constituting crimes against humanity. Based on a roadmap for the investigation of international crimes, OMCT and its Ukrainian partners submitted two allegation letters to UN Special Procedures, shared findings with international institutions and organised seven advocacy events. Victims also continued to be supported through the submission of individual communications to treaty bodies and direct assistance.

Venezuela

Venezuela is experiencing a critical human rights crisis, worsened by the presidential elections on 28 July 2024. The process was marked by intimidation, persecution and arbitrary arrests of candidates, parties, human rights defenders (HRDs) and journalists.

In 2024, OMCT issued nearly 20 urgent actions on civic space, the situation of HRDs including Rocío San Miguel, Kennedy Tejeda, Edward Ocariz, and Yendri Omar Velásquez, PROVEA and its general coordinator Oscar Murrillo, and Carlos Correa and the new laws threatening freedom of association and expression. OMCT also submitted urgent cases to the UN Special Procedures and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), highlighted Venezuela's human rights crisis to international institutions, and presented a report before the EU and IACHR on "The continuation of a policy of persecution, intimidation, stigmatisation and harassment".

Iran

In Iran, authorities escalated their crackdown on dissent in 2024, targeting activists, journalists, and protesters, particularly those involved in the Women, Life, Freedom movement, while imposing harsher restrictions on women and minorities, including the stricter enforcement of mandatory veiling. OMCT strengthened efforts to address torture, the death penalty, violence against women, and the brutal crackdown on protests. Amid a deteriorating situation, OMCT documented abuses and amplified the voices of survivors. OMCT also published a report on internal exile and banishment as a punishment for Human Rights Defenders and Minorities. OMCT also partnered with a network of psychologists and psychiatrists who provide crucial psychosocial aid to Iranian torture survivors.

Afghanistan

In 2024, systematic repression, violence, and gender-based persecution persisted with impunity under the Taliban regime, which seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. In response, the OMCT intensified its advocacy efforts with the UN Human Rights Council and UN missions in Geneva, facilitating direct engagement between Afghan HRDs and these institutions. Additionally, OMCT pushed for the renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur’s mandate and the establishment of a comprehensive, independent accountability mechanism. OMCT also advocated for justice through the International Criminal Court and supported the codification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.