ACAT was created in 1974

It acts in a world where half of the countries practise torture as a means of government. ACAT tries to bring about a growing consciousness among Churches and individual Christians of the evil of torture and to encourage them to fight for its abolition.

The national associations, members of FIACAT [1] , join together in their commitment outlined in a Charter, as follows:

 Our faith in Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead, saviour of the world, gives us the strength and hope to struggle for the abolition of torture. Faithful to His Word, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, we personally, and our Churches, are called to commit ourselves to serve those with whom Jesus Christ identified Himself. The struggle against torture is at the heart of the Christian message.

We believe that human beings live by God’s grace and pardon. ACAT asks its members to pray for forgiveness for the responsibility that they also bear for violence which impairs human dignity. We include the torturers in our prayers and actions.

God, who is love, makes all human beings brothers and sisters able to act in fellowship with one another.

He asks us:

 To unite in action,

 To be united in communion with the victims of torture,

 To remember that torturers are also His children.

Prayer is at the heart of our action:

 Our associations unite Christians of all traditions to join in common action. They are independent of political parties, governments or any sectarian organisations.

 We base our action on Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and work to the end that "no-one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", to which we add the abolition of capital punishment.

 We seek to contribute to all efforts to create, promote and extend legal procedures against torture.

We commit ourselves to work for the prevention of torture by watching closely what happens in our own countries and by furthering education for human rights.