Call for papers - The Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture: towards implementation

In March 2026, the Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (A/HRC/61/42) was presented to the Human Rights Council by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture. Shaped entirely by survivors’ experiences and voices — through three years of regional hearings in Bogotá, Nairobi, and Kathmandu, and more than 120 submissions from survivors worldwide — the Charter sets out seven core rights and calls on States, international organisations, civil society, and rehabilitation practitioners to adopt it as a framework for action. The Survivors’ Charter gives formal expression to what they have long articulated: that justice, rehabilitation, and prevention are not separate tracks but deeply interconnected, and that no meaningful progress is possible without survivors playing a central role in all responses. The Charter goes a step further, by being written by survivors and sets out their demands. Torture Journal invites contributions that engage directly with the Charter and with survivors’ rights and experiences — examining its foundations, assessing its de-mands and concepts against clinical and empirical realities, exploring opportunities and obstacles to implementing it in different spheres (government, civil society, internation-al organisation, or by sectors – medical, legal, economic or social), and asking what it demands of practitioners, legal systems, and institutions. We invite contributions from survivors, survivor-led organisations, researchers, clinicians, lawyers, and human rights practitioners, across disciplines and regions. Papers may be empirical, conceptual, legal, or clinical in orientation. Interdisciplinary work and submissions from practitioners in the field are especially welcome. Papers will be selected on the basis of relevance, methodological rigour, and contribution to advancing debate. Authors wishing to explore the suitability of a paper before submission are welcome to contact the Editor-in-Chief at pauperez@runbox.com.

Please find the full description of the call for papers here: Call for Papers - Charter of Rights