In Highlight: Global Torture Index

The Torture Index is a unique, data-driven tool developed by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and its SOS-Torture network to assess the risk of torture, ill-treatment, and the use of force by public officials across the globe. It is the first international tool to comprehensively focus on this specific set of human rights violations, assessing States' compliance with the highest international standards, while also examining their intersection with key issues such as democracy, prison conditions, death penalty, fair trial rights, violence against women and girls, and the safety of human rights defenders.

Unlike other measurement tools and human rights indices that may rely solely on legal frameworks or high-level reports, the Index draws from a combination of legal analysis and on-the-ground data collected by trusted local civil society organisations. This allows for a more nuanced and practical understanding of both the existence of safeguards and their real-world implementation. It highlights not only compliance gaps but also the absence of data itself—pointing to critical transparency issues and access to information.

The Index empowers civil society and affected communities to contribute directly to documenting abuses and evaluating state performance. It supports public debate by creating a transparent, open-access database that helps governments, journalists, researchers, and businesses understand both country-level risks and patterns of abuse. By surfacing evidence of systemic government deficiencies and elevating the voices of high-risk and marginalised groups, the Index promotes accountability and advances democratic participation, legal reform, and the protection of fundamental rights.

By 2025, OMCT network members and partners have collected data from 26 countries: Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Cameroon, Colombia, Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey and Spain.

Yes, the Global Torture Index serves as the basis for other tools and databases that monitor the application of international human rights standards. The SOS-Torture Network is at the heart of the OMCT and is the currently the most important global network striving to put an end to torture and protect human rights defenders. It is composed by 200 organisations in more than 90 countries, committed to documenting torture, helping victims, demanding justice, promoting reforms and protecting human rights defenders. Local network members and partners implementing the Torture Index are the main drivers of this initiative, gathering first-hand information and shaping it for advocacy strategies with governments and international actors, inform policy dialogue, and push for changes and reforms. Looking ahead, the methodology and indicators of the Index may also serve as a reference for other human rights indices and to reinforce local monitoring frameworks.

While the Global Torture Index is due to launch in June 2025, it is already positioned to complement and inform other databases and monitoring mechanisms that track the implementation of international human rights standards. With its specific focus on torture, ill-treatment, and the use of force, the Index has the potential to serve as a foundation for future tools and methodologies, particularly those addressing criminal justice, accountability, justice, and democracy.

One key collaborating platform is SOS-Defenders, another initiative developed by the OMCT. It is a collective platform, launched in December 2024, that aims at documenting cases of human rights defenders (HRDs) arbitrarily detained worldwide and at fostering joint action among civil society organisations and other partners for their liberation. The initiative sees the participation of local and international HRD-protection organisations, working together to counter arbitrary detention and reaffirm the right to defend human rights.

The Global Torture Index provides a comprehensive review of States’ compliance with the highest international standards against torture and ill-treatment. It examines both the legal and policy frameworks in place, as well as how they are applied in practice. This includes assessing adherence to key anti-torture and human rights provisions set out in international and regional instruments such as the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and its General Comments, the Optional Protocol to the CAT (OPCAT), the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), as well as other relevant human rights treaties, soft law instruments, and regional mechanisms.

The Index offers an annual assessment of each country’s performance, identifying gaps, patterns of risk, and areas requiring urgent attention. One concrete example is the use of the Index to evaluate the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UN CAT). For instance, if the UN CAT recommends improvements to complaint mechanisms or detention safeguards, the Index can help track whether those recommendations are being implemented—highlighting, whether independent oversight bodies exist and function effectively, whether victims of torture have access to justice, and the existence of protection measures for victims and witnesses. This information allows human rights organisations and international bodies to monitor the country's compliance and urge for the effective implementation of the recommendations.

Building on this data, the Index will issue ten strategic recommendations and good practices each year per country. These will serve as a reference point for governments, civil society, and international actors to assess progress—or setbacks—over time. They will also provide a common set of priorities to support advocacy, policy reform, and coordination within the global anti-torture movement.

The main users of the Global Torture Index are:

• Civil society organisations: strengthen their advocacy and submissions to international and regional mechanisms.
• Human rights defenders: often operating in high-risk contexts, use the Index to expose abuses, demand accountability, and reinforce their protection strategies.
• Governments and public institutions: decision makers, prison services, health professionals, National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) can use the findings to monitor conditions, improve standards, and support the implementation of legal and public policies reforms.
• Victims and at-risk groups: including detainees, those in police custody, and individuals from marginalised communities—often disproportionately affected—benefit from increased visibility and access to protection and redress.
• Regional and International organisations: including the UN Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, UN Special Rapporteurs and regional human rights bodies, can use the Index data to assess compliance and inform recommendations.
• Journalists and researchers: draw on the Index data and analysis to report on and raise awareness of the situation of torture and ill-treatment in different countries.
• Private sector:  rely on the Index to assess human rights risks when operating or investing in different regions. It supports ethical investing, risk management, and ESG strategies by identifying potential legal, reputational, and operational challenges.

The Global Torture Index was officially launched at the international level on the 25th of June 2025 in Geneva, during the Global Week Against Torture organised by the OMCT. This was followed by national and regional events on 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, organised by our network partners to foster engagement and visibility at the local level. Other activities and social media content will be published in the second semester of 2025.

Following the launch, the initiative will focus on strengthening advocacy efforts, fostering mutual learning among network members, and identifying new countries for future editions. To ensure long-term sustainability, joint fundraising efforts are being pursued with members of the network at both national and international levels.