[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF DR. INGE GENEFKE SECRETARY GENERAL--THE 
        INTERNATIONAL REHABILITATION COUNCIL FOR TORTURE VICTIMS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 24, 1997

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is a little understood, yet tragic fact 
that today one-third of the world's governments utilize torture as an 
instrument of political power. Torture has become an effective method 
to suppress political dissidence, and for those governments which lack 
the legitimacy of democratic institutions to justify their power, 
torture can provide a bulwark against popular opposition.
  I recently had the opportunity to confer with Dr. Inge Genefke, a 
Danish physician who for more than 20 years has been a pioneer in the 
study of the political use of torture and the consequences that torture 
has upon its victims. Dr. Genefke has been an outspoken and courageous 
bellwether in the field of finding ways to treat victims of torture, 
and more important, alerting the international community as to its 
widespread practice so that the countries that care about human rights 
can take concerted action to alleviate this scourge. Dr. Genefke 
rightly points out that torture is the most insidious weapon used by 
opponents of human rights, because torture can literally blot out the 
human spirit and eliminate the will to resist tyranny and oppression.
  Beginning her clinical work investigating ways to treat torture 
victims in 1973, Dr. Genefke came to the conclusion that since torture 
was so commonplace in nondemocratic states around the world, there 
needed to be international outreach in order to identify and treat 
victims. In 1982, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dr. Genefke established the 
Research Center for Torture Victims. In 1985, the center for the 
victims of torture was established in Minneapolis, MN based upon the 
Copenhagen Center's model. In 1988 the International Rehabilitation 
Council for Torture Victims [IRCT] was formed to coordinate the 
guidance and establishment of treatment centers in the countries which 
required them around the world. Today there are some 144 existing 
centers and programs in 76 countries.
  The definition of torture comes from the U.N. convention against 
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 
which entered into force in 1987. In the convention torture is defined,

       Any act which serves by severe pain or suffering, whether 
     physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person 
     for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person 
     information or confession, punishing him for an act he or a 
     third person has committed or is suspected of having 
     committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, 
     or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when 
     such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation 
     of or with the consent and acquiescence of a public official 
     or other person acting in official capacity.

  Dr. Genefke rightly points out that for political leaders of 
undemocratic societies, torture is useful because it aims at 
destruction of the personality, to rob those individuals who would 
actively involve themselves in opposition to oppression of the self-
confidence and other characteristics that produce leadership. I quote 
from a recent speech by Dr. Genefke:

       Sophisticated torture methods today can destroy the 
     personality and self-respect of human beings. . . . Many 
     victims are threatened with having to do or say things 
     against his ideology or religious convictions, with the 
     purpose of attacking fundamental parts of the identity, such 
     as self-respect and self-esteem. Torturers today are able to 
     create conditions which effectively break down the victim's 
     personality and identity and his ability to live a full life 
     later with and amongst other human beings.

  The work of Dr. Genefke and the IRCT is in part made possible for the 
U.N. Voluntary Fund or Victims of Torture. It is profoundly disturbing 
that in view of the essential nature of the work of the treatment 
centers around the world that bears upon the heart of our human rights 
endeavors, only slightly less than $4 million has been contributed or 
pledged to the Voluntary Fund in 1997. While the United States will 
provide $1.5 million in fiscal year 1997, and $3 million in both fiscal 
year 1998 and fiscal year 1999, countries like Japan, Germany, and the 
United Kingdom only contribute a fraction of these amounts.
  I urge our Government and our U.N. representative to help publicize 
the excellent work the IRCT performs around the world and to assist Dr. 
Genefke and her courageous colleagues around the globe to continue the 
innovative assistance they provide to the struggle to promote human 
rights and the establishment of democratic governments. There is 
enormous work yet to be done in this field. In countries like Iraq, 
Iran, and China the victims of oppression demand our attention.
  An important step in assisting in the work of the IRCT to receive 
attention would be for President Bill Clinton to visit the Copenhagen 
Center during his upcoming visit to Denmark next month. The publicity 
that would be afforded to the vital work of Dr. Genefke and the IRCT by 
a Presidential visit would be invaluable to helping raise international 
awareness of the importance of this practical support for human rights. 
I hope that the President will give every consideration to such a 
visit, which I have suggested in a recent letter to the President.




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