Many Voices, One Movement: OMCT's Strategy for 2025–2029
Torture Is Not a Thing of the Past
Today, torture lies at the heart of some of the world's most urgent crises, from rising authoritarianism and militarised policing to shrinking civic space and inequality-driven violence. It is deployed against the marginalised, the dissenting, the displaced. 176 states have ratified the Convention Against Torture. And yet impunity persists.
In this environment, the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment is not a given. The universality of human rights, once a hard-won consensus, now faces direct and vocal challenges. It must be defended, daily, by people and organisations who refuse to accept that cruelty is inevitable.
This is the very reason OMCT exists, and the future it is committed to shaping. With our new strategy for 2025–2029, we are sharpening our focus, deepening our alliances, and redoubling our commitment to a world free from torture.
No Organisation Can Do This Alone
The OMCT's mission is to strengthen and protect the global movement to eradicate torture and other ill-treatment. Our vision is a world free from torture, one where human dignity is not a privilege, but a reality for every person, everywhere.
We have always known that this work cannot be done in isolation but that we must act together. Eradicating torture requires a strong, connected, and resilient movement.
That is why we work hand in hand with our SOS Torture Network, our partners within the United Against Torture Consortium, Protect Defenders EU, the Observatory for the protection of Human Rights Defenders, and connecting international human rights mechanisms with the frontline actors who bear witness, document abuse, and support survivors.
Our Theory of Change
The OMCT's 2025–2029 strategy Many Voices, One Movement is built on a clear and evidence-informed theory of change. We believe that lasting progress against torture requires action on four interconnected fronts:
- Making torture visible. Credible data on torture drives legal reform and pushes states toward compliance with international standards.
- Delivering justice. Accountability and reparation are central to breaking cycles of impunity. Survivors deserve recognition and remedy.
- Protecting those who protect others. Human rights defenders are often the first to expose torture and the first to face retaliation. Protecting them means protecting civic space.
- Building a stronger movement. A well-resourced, connected movement is what will sustain pressure on states and translate advocacy into lasting change.
These four elements reinforce one another. Progress in one area multiplies progress in the others.
Four Goals, One Direction
Over the next five years, our work will be organised around four strategic goals:
- Goal I — Advancing the Fight Against Torture: Revealing torture risks, mobilising civil society, and driving reforms in laws and standards to strengthen compliance with international anti-torture safeguards.
- Goal II — Protecting Against Torture: Strengthening legal frameworks, documentation, and accountability mechanisms at the international and national levels, while survivors access protection, justice, reparation, and rehabilitation.
- Goal III — Defending the Right to Defend: Protecting the human rights defenders, lawyers, and civil society actors who are themselves targeted for their anti-torture work.
- Goal IV — Strengthening the Global Movement: Building the capacity, cohesion, and resilience of the broader movement we are part of and serve.
Running through all four goals are cross-cutting priorities that reflect where vulnerability and risk are highest: people on the move, women, and children, groups who face specific and often overlooked forms of torture and other ill-treatment.
Join Us
The global anti-torture movement today is larger, more experienced, and more interconnected than at any previous moment in history. The tools available to us, from UN mechanisms to digital platforms, from strategic litigation to survivor-led advocacy, are more powerful than ever.
But so are the human rights crises we are up against.
We invite states, donors, civil society organisations, and individuals to stand with us. To add their voice to a movement that holds, without compromise, that nothing can justify torture.
Many voices. One movement. A world free from torture.
Learn more about the OMCT's 2025–2029 strategy.
