put pressure on the governments for improving the status of human rights in their territories.

Empirical, experimental and clinical research conducted on a sample of beneficiaries of TRC’s services, or the target group served by TRC; so as to determine the efficacy of the service provided to them.

Studies for the monitoring and assessing the impact of the various programs and services provided by TRC, such as summer camps; in order to determine their actual impacts on the users and identify ways to develop these services to fully meet the needs of the beneficiaries.

B- Capacity Building:Since its inception, TRC has been committed to developing the skills of its own personnel and enabling them in all relevant fields. TRC also believes in the importance of improving the competencies available in the commu-nity at large and ensuring that the highest levels of experience and skills are imparted especially with regard to the specialized topics on torture and organized violence.

TRC also offers training and capacity building programs to individuals and institutions active in the areas of combating torture and organized violence in the Palestinian territories. This is being achieved through the development of specialized programs targeting providers of psycho-social services to the users and beneficiaries of TRC and other institutions work-ing in the same fields. This department is specialized in developing the skills of the teams so as to ensure that services of the highest quality are provided to beneficiaries and service-users. Focus is also given to strength-ening the competencies of individual professionals and deepening their knowledge and experience in the specialized areas related to torture and organized violence.

The Department plans for and carries out specialized courses for build-ing the capacities of individuals and institutions working in the areas of anti-torture; through a number of specialized programs targeting service providers of psycho-social health services and their users at TRC. The De-partment provides capacity building opportunities in relation to mental health and human rights for interested health providers, professionals, volunteers, students and researchers. In addition, TRC designs and deliv-ers tailor-made training programs on anti-torture and ensuring respect for human rights specifically targeting the various security agencies of the Palestinian National Authorities.

Main Office:Ramallah: Al-Irsal St. - Al-Masa Bldg. 3rd floorTel: +970 2 2963932, +970 2 2961710, Fax: +970 2 2989123

Branches:Hebron: King Faisal St., Opposite to the Education DepartmentBehind Khalaf Commercial Building, 4th floorTel: 02 2298021, Fax: 02 2298020

Jenin: Albasatin Neighborhood, the Elderly Home Building 1st floorTel: 04 243063, Fax: 04 2430362

Nablus: Al-Adl St. Aloul & Abu Salha Building 7th floorTel: 09 2398143, Fax: 02 2398133

www.trc-pal.orginfo@trc-pal.org

TRC’s Staff and Personnel:The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture- TRC is an independent Palestinian not-for-profit organization that aims at compating torture and organized violence, and providing various services to victims of torture and organized violence in the occupied Palestinian Territories.

We make our best efforts to provide optimal services to the victims of torture and organized violence in order to mitigate their suffering and con-cerns. In addition TRC offers training and expertise to various institutions and community centers in order to increase their efficiency and develop its services for the victims of torture and organized violence.

Donors and Financial Supporters: TRC receives support and funding from various parties and donors agen-cies which believe in its mission and objectives. TRC expresses its grati-tude to the following group of donors for their generous support and con-tribution to ensure the sustainability of TRC’s functions and services to victims of torture and organized violence:

European Union «EU» International Rehabilitation Council For Torture Survivors «IRCT»

Netherlands Representative Office «NRO» UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture «UNVFVT»

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation «SDC»

Spanish Agency Of International Cooperation For Development «AECID»

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Treatment &Rehabilitation Center forVictims ofTorture

The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture-TRC is a Palestinian non-governmental organization active in the area of defending human rights. TRC’s developmen-tal mandate is to arrive at a Palestinian society free from torture and organized violence. For the realization of this objective, TRC strives to increase community awareness of human rights and to disseminate knowledge on the topics of torture and organized violence (such as prison-ers, the wounded, families of martyrs, victims of the Apartheid Wall and the occupations’ road blocks, victims of the settlers and others).

In addition, TRC offers victims of torture and organized violence and their families in the Pal-estinian Society a complementary set of thera-peutic and rehabilitation services. Beneficia-ries from the service programs take advantage from a wide range of treatment, rehabilitation and training, awareness raising and voluntary medical visits to the homes of those individu-als unable to reach TRC. Free medical services and other needs as well as vocational training are provided to the beneficiaries so as to enable them through acquiring skills that qualify them to the labor market and start their own income-generating projects.

The idea of having a rehabilitation center for victims saw light in January of 1997 when TRC was founded. The accumulated experience in addressing the issues and needs of victims of torture and their families for creation of a spe-cialized professional place paved the way so as to assist victims and their loved ones who shared the sufferings caused by the traumatic events during the detention period. TRC is only center of its kind in the West Bank, in terms of its functions and services. A voluntary Board of Directors, composed of independent Palestinian professionals and public figures, is responsible for provision of oversight and decision making with regard to TRC’s policies, programs and functions as well as its personnel.

TRC’s Objectives:1. To continue to provide psycho-social assistance and rehabilitation for

the victims of torture and organized violence and their families.2. To disseminate and promote in the Palestinian society a culture of

respect of human rights and the rights of victims and those affected by torture based on the values and principles derived from the Interna-tional Humanitarian Law, the international laws on human rights and the international conventions against torture and organized violence.

3. To contribute to the exchange of experience and knowledge through training programs and building capacities of institutions and their per-sonnel in the areas of human rights and mental health, as well as for the prevention and criminalization of torture.

4. To maintain the provision of sustainable services for the victims, through the development of TRC’s strategy and management struc-ture to ensure the sustainability of TRC’s services and its developmen-tal role in society, by focusing on specific themes related to human rights, torture, and organized violence).

TRC’s Programs and Services:

1- Treatment and Rehabilitation:The Treatment & Rehabilitation Department is one of the most important departments at TRC where victims of torture and organized violence and their families have access to variety of treatment options such as the psy-chological and primary medical treatment as well as therapy clinical and psycho-social counseling. For the delivery of such services, a qualified and multi-disciplinary technical team depends on the most up-to-date treatment and intervention techniques through the receipt of beneficiaries and clients at TRC or throughout the other Districts in the West Banks. Mobile Treatment programs are also available which enables the team to promptly reach out to beneficiary cases in order to deliver prevention and treatment services as well as to speed up the processes of recovery and reintegration of torture victims into the community.

The qualified team applies the latest methods and techniques in treatment and psychological interventions, particularly those related to the cogni-tive, behavioral, narrative, and preventive methods of intervention in times of crisis as well as treatment based on eye movement. This comes within

the efforts made by a group of competent and highly specialized multidis-ciplinary team who keep abreast of all developments in this field.

Moreover, the Department offers vocational rehabilitation to victims on a number of skills and vocations, such as mosaic, hairdressing, carpentry, and others. This program aims at training the victims to acquire skills and proficiency in various occupations that help them settle in a daily routine and earn a living for themselves and their families. Every year, TRC orga-nizes summer camps for the aggrieved children with the aim to allevi-ate their suffering and create an outlet for relief and self-expression. The children assistance program take into account the pressing needs of these children for play and recreation but with an emphasis on developing their capacity and skills for dealing with stress and trauma, and mitigating the impact of the psychological shock. Summer camps are considered com-plementary to the children’s preventive, educational, treatment and reha-bilitative programs as well as the overall mental health of children affected by traumatic and recurrent events inflicted by the Israeli occupation. In addition, the Department provides internships and practical training to university students. Furthermore, the Department is also active in docu-menting the violations it monitors and submit the information it collected on such cases as affidavits before international conferences and special-ized committees on behalf of the victims of torture and organized crime.

2- Awareness-Raising and Advocacy:Through its activities and the work of its teams in the area of combating torture and organized violence, TRC keeps in close contact with the social groups exposed to or most vulnerable to any form of these violations. Therefore, TRC acknowledges the fact that there is a pressing need for a department specialized in public education and awareness-raising on the topics of torture, violence, and other related ones.

The Advocacy and Public Education Department is considered one of the pillars of the TRC. It was created to assume a critical role in raising the public’s awareness of various areas related to psycho-social health, human rights, and anti-torture. The Department operates in accordance to work strategies and planning developed by the team and based on the needs of the community in relation to human rights issues.

Through the formation of this department, TRC strives to activate the role of the community with regard to human rights and combating torture and organized violence in coordination with community centers, schools, uni-versities. TRC has extensive relationships with a network of human rights institutions and community centers as well as with decision-makers and

pressure groups. It also works on the creation of coalitions and alliances with likeminded institutions at the local, regional and global levels. The center is also active in the area of creating an anti-torture culture in the community through working with all media outlets so that such important messages are spread to all areas and social groups, impact their opinion, and measure the actual extent of this impact. The Department prepares and published periodical newsletters and pamphlets for increasing public awareness and the public culture of anti-torture. Publications are dissemi-nated to various institutions and individuals.

In addition, the Department holds seminars and workshops on mental health issues for the benefit of employees of other specialized institutions in order to provide them with skills necessary for the identification of men-tal health problems and treatment methods. TRC also partners with local and international institutions in order to obtain global legal and other as-sistance in support of the target groups

3. Research and Capacity Building:

A- Research:Research is considered the foundation of and the stepping stone for all the events and activities of all of the TRC’s departments. Stemming from the recognition of the importance of and need for scientific studies, research and documentation, TRC has given priority to conducting scientific re-search in the areas of psycho-social health and human rights as well as in understanding and monitoring the variable relevant to the Palestinian society generally and the beneficial of TRC’s services in particular.

TRC uses research findings to ensure that its programs and services are responsive to the actual needs and appropriate to the beneficiaries. TRC prepares and submits recommendations to relevant institutions so as to inform their decision-making and base their solutions and plans on strong scientific grounds. TRC actively participates in lectures, training courses and conferences held at the local, regional and international levels.

TRC conducts three main types of research studies:

Large-scale quantitative and quantitative general research which aim at the identification of new social phenomena. Human rights are given the utmost priority so that improvements or decline in the protection of human rights Palestinian territories are identified and highlighted in order to influence the public opinion to put an end to violations and enlist the support of the international community to

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR):Article 7. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR):Article 9. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT)Torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing

him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.