CAT/C/GC/3
bodies are effective and accessible to all victims. At the substantive level, States parties
shall ensure that victims of torture or ill-treatment obtain full and effective redress and
reparation, including compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible.
Substantive obligations: the scope of the right to redress
6.
As stated in paragraph 2 above, redress includes the following five forms of
reparation: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of nonrepetition. The Committee recognizes the elements of full redress under international law
and practice as outlined in the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy
and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and
Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law (Basic Principles and Guidelines).1
Reparation must be adequate, effective and comprehensive. States parties are reminded that
in the determination of redress and reparative measures provided or awarded to a victim of
torture or ill-treatment, the specificities and circumstances of each case must be taken into
consideration and redress should be tailored to the particular needs of the victim and be
proportionate to the gravity of the violations committed against them. The Committee
emphasizes that the provision of reparation has an inherent preventive and deterrent effect
in relation to future violations.
7.
Where State authorities or others acting in their official capacity have committed,
know or have reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment have been
committed by non-State officials or private actors and failed to exercise due diligence to
prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-State officials or private actors in
accordance with the Convention, the State bears responsibility for providing redress for the
victims (general comment No. 2).
Restitution
8.
Restitution is a form of redress designed to re-establish the victim’s situation before
the violation of the Convention was committed, taking into consideration the specificities of
each case. The preventive obligations under the Convention require States parties to ensure
that a victim receiving such restitution is not placed in a position where he or she is at risk
of repetition of torture or ill-treatment. In certain cases, the victim may consider that
restitution is not possible due to the nature of the violation; however the State shall provide
the victim with full access to redress. For restitution to be effective, efforts should be made
to address any structural causes of the violation, including any kind of discrimination
related to, for example, gender, sexual orientation, disability, political or other opinion,
ethnicity, age and religion, and all other grounds of discrimination.
Compensation
9.
The Committee emphasizes that monetary compensation alone may not be sufficient
redress for a victim of torture and ill-treatment. The Committee affirms that the provision of
monetary compensation only is inadequate for a State party to comply with its obligations
under article 14.
10.
The right to prompt, fair and adequate compensation for torture or ill-treatment
under article 14 is multi-layered and compensation awarded to a victim should be sufficient
to compensate for any economically assessable damage resulting from torture or illtreatment, whether pecuniary or non-pecuniary. This may include: reimbursement of
1
2
United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims
of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International
Humanitarian Law, General Assembly resolution 60/147.