KH speech for CAT Initiative side event on Universal ratification and implementation of UNCAT & OPCAT, 03 March 2015

Dear honourable guest, Mesdames et Messieurs, good afternoon,

My name is Kolbassia and I am really pleased to be here today talking to you. At one point in my life I never would have thought this possible.

I know very well that in the face of adversity a glimmer of hope is all you need to allow you to keep going – even in the darkest hour there is hope. I look back, and I wonder if it was all for this. So that I can stand here today and prove to you that it is possible to shift the shame from survivors to perpetrators.

Because I am not ashamed.

I am proud of who I am. I am a survivor and I am also now part of the solution.

I am proud to be bringing to you the message that it is possible to stand up again after torture.

But I am only able stand up here today because I found support – I found support through shelter, I found support through rehabilitation and I found support through protection

For me, the catalyst was the realisation that I needed to turn this intensely negative experience into something positive that could benefit others like me.

So I co-found the Survivors Speak OUT Network with other survivors who I met after my arrival in the UK and I am honoured to speak to you today on their behalf and on behalf of those who never escaped their tortures

The Survivors Speak OUT network is the UK’s only torture survivor-led activist network and we are actively engaged in speaking out against torture and its impacts. Set up by survivors of torture, for survivors of torture, we use our livedexperiences to speak with authority for the rights of torture survivors. The network is supported and facilitated by the UK charity Freedom from Torture. This is the charity that worked with me to help me make sense of what had happened to me and that gave me the strength to use my voice once again.

Freedom from Torture came into being just one year after the adoption of UNConvention againstTorture. It is therefore a fitting honour for me to be here in 2015 which marks the organisation’s 30th anniversary. Freedom from Torture continues to be anorganisation that I cherish and consider as a second home.

I am thankful to the Committee against Torture who recently underlined that the Conventionmakes it a duty of states to offer rehabilitation to survivors seeking protection in countries - because thiswas why Freedom from Torture was established and this is why I am here today - without it I really don’t know where I would be or how I would have overcome my horrors.

As many of my brothers and sisters cross through the doors of Freedom fromTorture to be cared for, I have not only witnessed the incredible life-changing work of the organisation but also the evils of the world we live in.

I hope all of us gathered here today agree that torture is wrong - both in practice and in law. Torture destroys communities; it can break families apart and it can destroy you ... that is if you let it.

We are all complicit in torture if we remain silent. Oursilence grants perpetrators impunity for their crimes, giving them power to continue torturing of others. We must reject the falsehood that survivors of torture are to blame for the crimes of the perpetrator and shift the stigma - it is their shame, not ours

We can only shatter the culture of impunity by holding perpetrators to account for their crimes – that is why ratification and implementation of UNCAT and the optional protocol is essential – your actions must be meaningful.

Torture stands in absolute opposition to freedom. It removes choice and the voice of the victim and enslaves our mental and physical well-being to a catalogue of violations and humiliation.

Allowing just one act of torture anywhere sanctions its use everywhere. It diminishes the authority of any state to act as guardian of its citizens by giving the clear message that human rights no longer matter. Commanded, conducted or condoned with impunity, torture reinforces continuing cycles of violence and lawlessness.

My own experience of torture seemed to compound this reality. Transitioning from being a victim of torture to being a survivor of

torture is a painful and often lengthy journey. It takes courage, strength and support.

Empowering survivors to safely speak out is one of many ways to break this vicious cycle and end torture. An example of this is the Survivors Speak OUT network engagement in the UK Foreign Offices Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative - we have actively inserted our voices into this initiative and it has demonstrated that there is a shiftaway from survivors considered merely 'victims', only listened to for their personal testimony, but as experts informed by their lived experiences who can contribute practical insights in shaping appropriate responses to human rights violations.I urge you all here today to support and resource survivor activism in your efforts to prevent torture and hold those responsible to account - your work will be richer for it.

I am speaking here today as I want is to inspire others to move beyond their fear, not only survivors, but all of society. If we all work together, we can irreversibly replace the culture of impunity with a culture of prevention. You all have a role too and that is to ensure that States use their power and influence to encourage countries to ratify the Convention including its optional protocol. But for it to be meaningful and effective, it must be followed by implementation and monitoring so that together we can end torture - no more people should be forced to experience what I have.

Thank you very much and May God bless and Guide us all.