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Annual Report 2025
02

Global Torture Index

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2025: A YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENTS

OMCT is proud to mark 2025 as the year of the official launch of the Global Torture Index, a new evidence-based tool to advance the fight against torture worldwide, covering 27 countries across five regions. Beyond its launch, the year also saw the Index become a focal point for strengthened partnerships, growing recognition, collaboration, and sustained advocacy.

The Global Torture Index is a unique, data-driven tool designed to annually assess the risk of torture and other ill-treatment worldwide.

Watch the video to learn more.

The year started with collaborative work engaging civil society organisations from the pilot countries. A dedicated webinar brought together partner organisations, with over 100 participants, sharing experiences and good practices, building momentum and shaping the dynamic for creating a strong empirical tool. Such work was reinforced all year thanks to donors’ engagement, and academic and statistical expertise built especially with the renowned Geneva Graduate Institute, for the successful deployment of the Index survey.

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In the image: The Global Torture Index launch in June 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The official launch of the Index on 25 June gathered over 200 participants online to discuss this new tool, its methodology and results. With a press conference held in Geneva, national launches in partnering countries implementing the Index were numerous and brought data to light.

Media coverage was successful in disseminating Index results, particularly in Latin America, Europe and India. Between June and September, more than 20,000 people visited the Index webpage, and significant efforts in communications enhanced visibility with more than 97 social media posts, videos featuring Index data, and thematic blog posts.

Important efforts were also made to empower and support local partners. India alone saw its factsheet made available in ten local languages to support national advocacy work. The Index was presented as a tool for strategic litigation to the SOS-Torture Africa and Europe’s Litigators Groups to strengthen data use in legal and advocacy work. Honduras and El Salvador’s factsheets were submitted as alternative reports to the Committee Against Torture (CAT).

2025 was also the year of recognition and strategic partnerships. Public endorsement of the Index as a “powerful tool” by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr. Alice Edwards, has contributed to reinforcing its status as a credible, evidence-based tool for global advocacy. Now featured in the Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools Databases (DHRTTDs) and in the Torture Journal, the Index continues to work closely with Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems (HURIDOCS) to consolidate its legitimacy and build robust data.

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In the image: Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

Looking forward, 2025’s achievements created the landmarks to building a comprehensive data-driven tool designed to transform data into action.

What does the first edition of the Global Torture Index show?

The first edition of the Global Torture Index makes clear that torture remains a widespread, pressing crisis, and that its patterns are global.

Watch the Video