- A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT-
2024 was a busy year for FIACAT in terms of advocacy and implementation of joint programmes with ACATs aimed at supporting States in fulfilling their international and regional commitments on the prohibition of torture and the abolition of the death penalty. Many ACATs were supported in their advocacy activities with international and regional human rights bodies, despite sometimes difficult access to visas, particularly for ACAT Burundi activists in exile.
Support for ACATs in their advocacy activities led to two important victories this year: accession of the Republic of Congo to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 26 April 2024, and that of Côte d'Ivoire to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, on 3 May 2024.
Furthermore, thanks to FIACAT's advocacy, the Pan-African Parliament adopted a resolution calling on African Union member states to abolish the death penalty and support the adoption of the draft African protocol on the death penalty.
Finally, the 20 participants in the 8th biennial ‘Norbert Kenne’ Francophone training course for human rights defenders committed to combating torture and ill-treatment in Africa graduated; they now form a new generation of defenders ready to pass on their knowledge and strengthen their respective organisations.
FIACAT's governance has also been significantly renewed this year with the election, on 3 June 2024, of a new International Bureau for a four-year term. This new eight-member International Bureau is composed of three representatives from ACATs in Africa, four representatives from ACATs in Europe and one representative from ACATs in the Americas. It is composed of four women and four men.
With this new International Bureau, FIACAT is preparing to develop and adopt a new strategic plan for the period 2025-2028, a crucial period for all those committed to fundamental rights around the world. This plan will guide the organisation's priorities for action and enable it to continue, with renewed strength and determination, the fight to prohibit torture and eradicate cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as to abolish the death penalty. Strengthening and supporting the ACAT network will be at the heart of this plan, with particular attention paid to the security of members and the provision of the tools and training necessary for the success of their actions. The strategic plan will also take into account the phenomenon of the shrinking civic space, which hinders the work of human rights defenders and threatens the very foundations of their actions.
In order to carry out its projects, FIACAT maintains a wide range of collaborations and partnerships, building on the trust it has earned and the professionalism of its staff.
Christophe d'Aloisio
President of FIACAT
 Activity Report 2024 _ FIACAT |