First published in 1999, the Istanbul Protocol is the internationally agreed set of best-practice standards that States must follow in investigating torture and by which health and legal professionals should evaluate allegations of torture, document the cases of survivors and produce quality evidence.
Simply put, the Istanbul Protocol – the IP, as it is known to practitioners – tells you everything you need to know about the legal foundations for the absolute prohibition of torture, the relevant professional ethical codes for working with survivors, the practical steps required to be taken by States, and by doctors, psychologists and lawyers when interviewing torture survivors, and the different considerations when documenting the physical and psychological evidence of torture.
As such, the Istanbul Protocol is one of the bedrocks on which the IRCT’s global network operates.
The Istanbul Protocol – Arabic
The Istanbul Protocol – Chinese
The Istanbul Protocol – French
The Istanbul Protocol – Russian
As part of the Istanbul Protocol Update Editorial Committee, the IRCT led work on updates and revisions to the Istanbul Protocol, in coordination with the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
With contributions from some 200 experts across 51 countries, the updated IP, published in June 2022, incorporates 20 years of advances in torture documentation as well as lessons learned, and includes new sections on medico-legal evaluations of children, LGBTQ+ people, and asylum seekers.
In order to train as many stakeholders as possible on its contents in an accessible and resource-efficient manner, the IRCT has designed an online curriculum to teach the IP 2022, with the first modules to be launched by end 2022.
Editorial Committee Members at UN OHCHR for the publication of the 2022 edition of the Istanbul Protocol.
“The Istanbul Protocol has transformed how we understand, investigate, document, and work towards the eradication of torture around the world.”
Quick Takes:
What is the Istanbul Protocol all About?
What is the Purpose of the Istanbul Protocol?
What is Contained in the Istanbul Protocol?
What Must be Documented During a Clinical Evaluation of a Torture Survivor?
Why Must There Always Be a Psychological Examination?
How Do Forensic Medical Experts Use the Istanbul Protocol?
What if the Survivor Shows No Symptoms of Torture?
Why Has the Istanbul Protocol Been Updated?
What Does the Updated Istanbul Protocol Say to Health Professionals?
What Does the Updated Istanbul Protocol Say to States?
Why Was it Important to Include a Section on Torture and LGBTI+ Persons?
What is New in Legal Standards Related to Torture?
What Can the Updated Istanbul Protocol Hope to Achieve?
“The Istanbul Protocol was developed to bring evidence of torture and ill-treatment to light so that perpetrators may be held accountable for their actions and the interests of justice may be served.”
Increasing Capacity:
Training on the Istanbul Protocol
Every year, the Secretariat works with our Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG) and member centres to provide training on the Istanbul Protocol to members of our network, as well as civil society and State authorities. This is an essential part of our mission to increase capacity in the anti-torture sector.
In 2025, IRCT partnered with Omega Research Foundation and the Association for the Prevention of Torture through United against Torture Consortium (UATC) to deliver a training mission in Bangladesh. BLAST staff received specialised training on self care and trauma informed interviewing using the Istanbul Protocol. The training was also attended by several highlevel lawyers including from the Office of the Prosecution and the Appellate Division which works on torture cases.
IRCT’s Istanbul Protocol Programme Coordinator, James Lin, (right) training staff at CAPS Colombia.
In Indonesia, ongoing collaborations saw lawyers, medical professionals and psychologists trained on documentation of protest violence and Istanbul Protocol evaluations with partner KONTRAS; staff at MSF Italy trained on the identification of victims of torture among migrants, and on the basics of trauma-informed interviewing; and members of OMCT’s strategic litigation working group in Africa trained on medico-legal documentation and the use of the Istanbul Protocol in judicial proceedings as well as on the methodology to collect evidence in the context of protests.
In 2024, IRCT conducted a series of extensive in-person training missions to support members and civil society to document torture in Latin America, responding to the wave of police brutality against protesters over recent years.
Jose Luis Blanco, CAPS Colombia, addresses staff at Cintras, Chile, sharing best practices and common challenges in documenting the impacts of torture from police brutality.
In Peru, the IFEG experts’ support to the Peruvian Prosecutor’s office to investigate the killings and torture during the 2022 social protests (see Section 6.1.2) included several training sessions – some online and many in-person during the teams’ multiple trips to Peru. In Colombia, staff at IRCT member Centre of Psychological Assistance Corporation (CAPS) and their lawyers were trained on conducting evaluations of torture survivors following the Istanbul Protocol, while in Chile, Cintras staff, medical professionals and eight partner organisations also received training on best-practice documentation of torture. Training on the IP was also undertaken with eight government agencies and 10 CSOs, partnering with the UN Joint Programme in the Philippines.
Previous to this IP training include: Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, with our member in Mexico CCTI; members of Nigeria’s Independent Investigative Panels investigating crimes committed by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, working with our member PRAWA; the Kosovo Judicial Academy, with our member Kosova Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims; Rwanda’s new National Preventative Mechanism (NPM); participating States agencies of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); the Asia Alliance Against Torture network of NGOs.
Training on the Istanbul Protocol in Mexico, credit: CCTI
If you believe your organisation could benefit from training on the Istanbul Protocol, please email us at IRCT@IRCT.org
“The extent to which States implement Istanbul Protocol standards should be considered a measure of their commitment to ending torture and other ill-treatment.”
Highlight:
The Istanbul Protocol in Action
Mexico’s ongoing 15-year ‘War on Drugs’ has unleashed terrifying police violence. Tens of thousands of Mexican citizens have been tortured with impunity. As well as providing rehabilitation to survivors, IRCT member CCTI trains independent experts to document torture using the Istanbul Protocol.
Want to know how IRCT members use the Istanbul Protocol in their everyday work? Watch, Ending Impunity: Using the Istanbul Protocol to Document Torture in Mexico, an interview with Cristian Urbalejo Luna, General Coordinator of the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI, Mexico).
