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	The use of torture is illegal, under any circumstances by Navi Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   26 June 2012   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on countries to provide concrete support for victims of torture and prove their commitment to fighting a cruel and dehumanizing practice that remains pervasive.   In his message for the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, observed on 26 June, Mr. Ban noted that every day, women, men and children are tortured or ill-treated with the intention of destroying their sense of dignity and human worth.   “In some cases, this is part of a deliberate state policy of instilling fear and intimidating its population,” he said. “In too many countries, people’s legitimate demands for freedom and human rights are met with brutal repression. Even when regimes change, torture often persists and a culture of impunity remains.”   He noted the obligation of States not only to prevent torture but to provide all torture victims with effective and prompt redress, compensation and appropriate social, psychological, medical and other forms of rehabilitation.   The UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, created in 1981, supports hundreds of organizations and entities that provide assistance to victims of torture and their family members in all regions of the world.   Noting that the Fund has seen a significant decrease in contributions over the past two years, Mr. Ban strongly encouraged States to reverse this trend, despite current global financial uncertainty.   “By concretely supporting victims of torture, the international community will prove its unequivocal determination and commitment to fight torture and impunity,” he stated.   The Board of Trustees of the Fund, as well as the UN Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment issued a joint statement in which they stressed that victims of torture must not face reprisals for seeking redress through the UN.   They noted that every year, hundreds of rehabilitation centres, small and large, supported by the Fund, provide indispensable humanitarian, medical and legal assistance to thousands of victims of torture and their family members.   “Many of those victims and actors who enable us to do our work by providing invaluable expertise and by sharing the sufferings they have endured, experience intimidation and reprisals,” they said.   They also stressed that reprisals against people who cooperate with the UN mechanisms in protecting and advancing human rights are absolutely unacceptable and are in violation of international law and States’ legal obligations.   There must be an effective means of ensuring that reprisals do not occur, and if they do, the individuals involved and the State must be held accountable, they added.   “It is imperative that States translate their commitment to the fight against torture with measures that guarantee that victims and human rights advocates engaging with the United Nations mechanisms against torture will not be subjected to reprisals and re-victimization,” they stated.   The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, marked the Day with a call on all States to live up to the pledges they have made to prevent, prosecute and punish the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.   “As the Convention Against Torture states unequivocally, the use of torture is illegal, under any circumstances, with no exceptions,” she said in a statement. “I call on all those States that have still not introduced laws that criminalise torture to do so urgently, and all those that already have such legislation to redouble their efforts to ensure it is fully implemented.”   She also stressed the need for a more concerted effort to provide victims and their families with the necessary support and reparations “to alleviate, at least slightly, the profound and lasting damage that has been done to them.”   The use of torture is far from over. Every day, the various UN bodies that deal with torture, including my Office, continue to receive harrowing reports of torture in detention, whether to force confessions or to intimidate those critical of the powers that be.   "The victims of torture are, more often than not, ordinary people who belong to already vulnerable sectors of society. Perhaps most shockingly of all, even children are not spared.   "On this UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, I call on all States to live up to the pledges they have made to prevent, prosecute and punish the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Visit the related web page
	In Chihuahua - 56 women have been killed so far in 2012 by Adam Shapiro Frontline Defenders Mexico   I flew into Chihuahua, Mexico after the sun had retreated behind the rolling hills to the west. After dark, this city of almost a million people becomes a different place. Lucha, an extraordinary human rights defender was waiting for me in the arrivals lounge bio Brief Bio of Lucha, I was surprised she was alone. But then again, she is a veteran of the war here - that is what she called it, "La Guerra".   The streets were mostly empty as we drove into one of the colonias (neighborhoods) of the city, where I would be staying. After we discussed the plan for the coming days and other logistics, I asked Lucha what the current situation was in terms of the violence. She explained that there was a war going on, involving narco traffickers, corrupt police and military and gang violence. Only in December, in nearby Juarez, fellow defender Norma Andrade was shot 5 times.   Women were targeted. Human rights defenders were targeted. Chihuahua has been identified as the most dangerous place in the world for human rights defenders.   That night 7 people were killed in Chihuahua city. As of last week, 56 women had been killed in Chihuahua state in 2012.   The next day, driving around and seeing the city in daylight, I found it hard to reconcile the knowledge of the violence, and the war, with the physical landscape I saw. Chihuahua is a functional city, with factories, a downtown complete with a pedestrian plaza, beautiful cathedral and a governor''s palace with stunning wall murals depicting the history of the country.   What was unsettling, or at least out of place for me, was the lack of physical reference to the immense violence. Even today in Beirut, more than 15 years since the end of the Lebanese civil war, the scars of the violence there are evident - buildings with rocket or ammunition holes, semi-destroyed buildings, etc. Even in Bahrain, in villages, the unmistakable marks left by tear gas canisters and bullets are evident.   But here, there was nothing to signify in the public space what was going on; at least not that I realised immediately. It was only after spending more time in the city and seeing more places that I realised how ubiquitous bars were - steel bars on homes, doors, windows, seemingly everywhere.   This is the physical manifestation of the violence and must have a powerful effect on the psyche of the collective in Chihuahua as well as on the individual. To be indoors, is to be behind bars. Views from windows are obstructed and walking down a residential street can feel like walking with jail cells on either side.   Of course the bars here are for protection - a move to try to ensure the safety and security of loved ones and the sanctity of home and person. But it is also a desperate move, when the state and society have failed.   15 people have been killed in the last thirty six hours and as I write the army is being deployed on the streets of the city. Visit the related web page
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