The REDRESS Podcast

Hostage diplomacy is a term used to describe the practice of detention of foreign citizens by States for diplomatic end. It often involves arbitrary arrest, torture, and ill treatment of those held hostage. In this episode of The REDRESS Podcast we discuss how States use hostage diplomacy for political leverage and its growing prevalence of use by authoritarian regimes in international negotiations, as well as why States should be obliged to use consular protection to shield their nationals from torture abroad. We also hear from Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, on why he believes that Nazanin's current arbitrary detention by the Iranian government is attributable to hostage diplomacy. As well as Richard we are joined by Yonah Diamond, Legal Counsel at the Montréal-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and Chris Esdaile, Legal Advisor at REDRESS.

To find out more about our work, visit: www.redress.org.

To sign up to our newsletter, visit: www.redress.org/newsletter-signup.

You can subscribe to the podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

REDRESS is grateful to Sarah Khan, who presented and produced this podcast.

Transitional justice aims to address the legacy of vast human rights violations committed during conflict in order to ensure a better future. A lot has been spoken and written about the importance to place the needs of victims at the heart of transitional justice processes. However, often victims have little room to influence these processes. In this episode, we discuss what are the main obstacles that impede the meaningful participation of those most affected by conflicts in these processes and what can be done to improve this situation. Joining us to discuss this is an activist and survivor of the Uganda conflict, Sylvia Acan; Marlies Stappers from Impunity Watch, Luke Moffet from Queens’ Belfast University, and Amir Suliman, a Sudanese lawyer who works for the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies on human rights issues in Sudan. 

To find out more about our work, visit: www.redress.org.

To sign up to our newsletter, visit: www.redress.org/newsletter-signup.

You can subscribe to the podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

REDRESS is grateful to Sarah Khan, who presented and produced this podcast.

In this episode, we introduce listeners to the Overseas Operations Bill, which is currently under consideration in the UK parliament. The bill is an effort by the government to tackle so-called 'vexatious' legal claims against the armed forces, but is facing heavy scrutiny from a range of groups, including survivors of torture, military veterans, human rights activists and a diverse coalition of politicians. We are joined by REDRESS Legal Adviser Chris Esdaile, Oxford academic Dr Elizabeth Stubbins Bates, and former  command senior adviser to the Army, Reverend Nicholas Mercer, to discuss the provisions of this bill, the extent to which it violates international law and the impact it could have on the use of torture in warfare.

To find out more about our work, visit: www.redress.org

To sign up to our newsletter, visit: www.redress.org/newsletter-signup.

You can subscribe to the podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

REDRESS is grateful to Tom Davies, who presented and produced this podcast.

We are pleased to introduce the third edition of the REDRESS Podcast, bringing you the latest in our efforts to secure justice for survivors of torture, as featured in our monthly newsletter.

This month, we have a special edition on enforced disappearances in Africa. We explore the issue in detail, from its impact on victims and communities to the legal gaps and obstacles that prevent victims from finding the truth, and obtaining justice and reparations. This episode has been produced as part of our social media campaign to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance on 30th August, established by the United Nations to draw attention to the plight of these victims.

To find out more about our Enforced Disappearance in Africa project, visit our website at www.redress.org.

To sign up to our newsletter, visit: redress.org/newsletter-signup.

You can subscribe to the podcast on all major podcasting platforms, and it is also available on our YouTube account.

REDRESS is grateful to Tom Davies, who presented and produced this podcast.

We are pleased to introduce the second edition of the REDRESS Podcast, bringing you the latest in our efforts to secure justice for survivors of torture, as featured in our monthly newsletter.

In this podcast, we discuss historic legal reforms announced in Sudan this month. The reforms include the abolition of the crime of apostasy, significant changes to public order laws and strengthened legal protections against torture.

We also update listeners on two legal cases we are currently working on in Sri Lanka and Venezuela, discuss the new sanctions regime introduced by the UK government and launch our new crowdfunding campaign to support survivors of LGBT+ discriminatory torture.

The REDRESS Podcast is also available on our YouTube account. You can subscribe to our newsletter on redress.org/newsletter-signup.

REDRESS is grateful to Tom Davies, who presented and produced this podcast.

We are pleased to introduce the first edition of the REDRESS Podcast, bringing you the latest in our efforts to secure justice for survivors of torture as featured in our monthly newsletter.  

In this podcast, we set out our concerns for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Jagtar Singh Johal and their right to medical treatment during the Covid-19 outbreak. We also warn of the implications of the possible pardon and release of the former dictator of Chad Hissène Habré, who is currently serving a life sentence in Senegal, and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity and genocide committed during his 30-year rule.  

We also discuss the recent landmark judgement in the case of Azul Rojas Marín, a transgender woman who was beaten and raped by several police officers in Peru in 2008 because of her sexual orientation. In March, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found Peru responsible for her torture and ordered measures to eradicate systemic discrimination against the LGBT+ community in Peru. This is the first judgement by a human rights court on LGBT+ discriminatory torture, and creates a much-needed precedent for this community in the Americas and beyond.  

The REDRESS Podcast is also available on our YouTube account. You can subscribe to our newsletter on redress.org/newsletter-signup.  

REDRESS is grateful to Sarah Khan, who presented and produced this podcast.