LAMPEDUSA, ITALY - MAY 24: Refugees and migrants are seen swimming and yelling for assistance from crew members from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) 'Phoenix' vessel after a wooden boat bound for Italy carrying more than 500 people capsized on May 24, 2017 off Lampedusa, Italy. Numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy has risen since the same time last year with more than 43,000 people recorded so far in 2017. In an attempt to slow the flow of migrants Italy recently signed a deal with Libya, Chad and Niger outlining a plan to increase border controls and add new reception centers in the African nations, which are key transit points for migrants heading to Italy. MOAS is a Malta based NGO dedicated to providing professional search-and-rescue assistance to refugees and migrants in distress at sea. Since the start of the year MOAS have rescued and assisted 3572 people and are currently patrolling and running rescue operations in international waters off the coast of Libya. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
A picture of Annie Alfred at school - taken in Malawi. This photo is part of the Malawi campaign to stop the killings of people with albinism in Malawi.
Illustration image depicting acts of torture committed in Police custody.
Anyone arrested on suspicion of criminal activity in the Philippines risks being tortured or ill-treated in police custody. Many victims are children and almost all are from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Methods of torture include systematic beatings, electric shocks, water-boarding, asphyxiation, hitting with truncheons or similar objects and being threatened at gunpoint. Although the Philippines is bound by international and domestic law to prevent and investigate acts of torture and other ill-treatment, such practices are rife during arrests and interrogations in many police stations. The severely understaffed police force, assisted by auxiliaries, is predisposed to taking âshortcutsâ during arrests and investigations. A lack of forensic and investigative capacity and reliance on testimonial evidence, underlies the use of torture and other ill-treatment to extract âconfessionsâ, regardless of evidence or the truth of the matter. No perpetrator has ever been convicted of torture in court
