MANAGEMENT’S REVIEW

The IRCT Annual Report layout The layout of the Annual Report follows the structure of the IRCT Strategy 2018-2021. All IRCT’s systems and processes are aligned with the strategic plan to reflect our resource allocation per output and outcome, connecting policy decisions to all levels of activity and operations. Therefore, also the presentation of the Annual Report is output-based, presenting the results along the lines of the five output areas in addition to the common costs. Principal activities of the organisation The IRCT is a private, non-partisan, and not-for-profit membership organisation. It is the leading global association on torture rehabilitation with 161 members in 76 countries. The association is governed by its members and aspires to be the global unified voice of the torture rehabilitation movement. The IRCT is uniquely positioned to take the lead in the identification of global standards and evidence-based approaches to rehabilitation, in sharing knowledge on rehabilitation and promoting the sustainability of the movement. IRCT members focus on holistic rehabilitation of torture victims including access to justice, healing, social support, social reintegration and public awareness. The IRCT uses its healthbased knowledge about the impact of torture on victims to promote accountability and prevention. The output areas are the following: 1. Global Standards

2. Global Monitoring and evaluation 3. Global knowledge platform 4. Financial sustainability 5. Well-run organisation

6. Common Costs

As all bodies and groups in the organisational structure should exist and function with the objective of furthering the strategy, the IRCT has reviewed the alignment of those with the Strategy 2018-21 with the following results: 1. Governance (General Assembly, Council, Executive Committee): The IRCT conducted a governance review which streamlined the mandate and costeffectiveness of the governance bodies. In particular, it strengthened the mandate of the General Assembly, decreased the size of the Council and ExCom, and

replaced physical with virtual meeting. In addition, the role of the Council was refined to channel input from the regions and from thematic experts. 2. Committees and working groups: As part of the governance review, the IRCT created a new structure of five advisory boards providing expert input to the IRCT in communications, sustainability, health, research and compliance. The Advisory board conveners are non-voting members of the Council. 3. Secretariat: The Secretariat was further streamlined and maintaining a lean structure with a small core staff group as well as project specific staff. The changes relating to the effective governance, introduction of member fees and virtual meetings were reflected in new Statutes that the Council adopted in 2019 as well as the Rules of Procedure adopted by the Executive Committee. Summary of results For the period 1 January – 31 December 2020, the IRCT has a result of 64 tEUR. The income of the period totals 1.816 tEUR, covering expenditure of 1.752 t EUR. The total equity is 311 tEUR.

The main variances to the results of 2019 are the COVID-19 related shift in activity costs towards subgrants (Output 4) and online support (Output 3) to the membership. At the same time activity and travel cost were reduced for advocacy, global data and indicator work (Output 1 and 2), due to the COVID-19 related cancelations and postponements of trainings, strategic meetings and interventions in the partner countries and with national and international stakeholders.

As in the previous year, common costs were further decreased significantly. This reflects the successful efforts to reduce the operational costs of the organization and to refocus investment on project implementation. Situational changes and IRCT reactions The COVID-19 pandemic has had a fundamental impact on the IRCT both at member and Secretariat level, and resulted in significant changes both in expenditure and income. Across the world, lockdowns and social distancing measures are preventing torture survivors from accessing rehabilitation centres. Rehabilitation centres have had to close their facilities to comply with government directives, restrict access to their premises or invest heavily in medical and sanitation equipment to create sterile environments. Many torture survivors were isolated from updated information, unable to access treatment or therapy or basic daily support. To adapt to the new context, IRCT members have had to rethink their service delivery to ensure that they are still able to offer support at this critical time. Several IRCT member centres have launched online therapy platforms, retrained staff in tele-health protocols or are reaching out to their clients via telephone to ensure that survivors basic needs are met. Others are translating public health information into various languages, purchasing sanitation equipment so that they can attend to their clients or providing survivors with phone credits.

The IRCT held close contact with its main donors who provided flexibility for adjusting to the new circumstances. Their support enabled IRCT to be agile and flexible in adjusting to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in reaching significant milestones towards our strategic goals. While some activities had to be cancelled or postponed, new ways of supporting the membership were developed, in particular through two rounds of COVID-19 subgranting. Furthermore, the IRCT increased its shift to digital working which had been started in 2019 and developed new methodologies to strengthen experience exchange and capacity support within the movement. Expenditure and Income The IRCT continued the key strategy adopted during 2018, for reducing governance and operational costs of the organization, and shifting funding to output activities and direct support to the membership. The COVID-19 pandemic large hindered the implementation of many project and advocacy activities initially planned for the year and made repeated replanning and postponement necessary. This is reflected in the lower spend on Output 2 and partly Output 1. An increase in expenditure compared to 2019 can be seen in the focus on COVID-19 support. Almost a quarter of IRCT expenditure for 2020 went to sub-granting for the membership. Also, the investment in member support through the online knowledge platform and tools, was increased significantly in 2020. At the same time, as a result of implementing the new virtual meeting modalities, governance meeting costs were significantly reduced by 85%. In addition, the operational costs were further cut by 17% compared to 2019. The main core donor for 2020 remains the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark with 1.2 mEUR per year. A mid-term review was carried out as part of the current 2019-21 grant, followed by a close dialogue about IRCT’s impact and membership engagement. A great advance has been made in reaching the target to get the support of one additional core donor. Sigrid Rausing Trust has continued its support for a new grant cycle 2020-22, and awarded the IRCT an additional grant of 330 tEUR to enable and fund the COVID-19 emergency subgrants to the membership. Furthermore, during 2020 the collaboration with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs was renewed and IRCT received support for two new projects. for the Global Indicator Project, focusing on global monitoring and evaluation at national level. In addition, the IRCT received project funds from the European Commission as well as Danish Foundations. Putting the new membership contributions scheme into action, was a major focus of the organisation during 2020 and members contributed with almost 70 tEUR to the IRCT. Those funds were allocated to cover governance cost, as a solidarity action to supplement the COVID19 subgrants and for key projects in particular the Torture Journal. During 2020 outreach for individual donations was maintained, securing the required threshold of one hundred individual donations to maintain charity status in Denmark.

Reserves

In 2020, the budgeting approach and support from donors enabled the IRCT to buffer the negative result of the previous period, and to slightly build the reserve to 310 tEUR. The reserve may only be accessed with Executive Committee approval. According to IRCT’s reserve policy, a minimum financial reserve is to be built up and maintained to ensure that; 1. the costs of the organisation can be met for at least six months without income; 2. liabilities can be met in the event of service closure. The reserve may only be access with Executive Committee approval. Planning and controls In relation to the financial management, the Executive Committee and the Secretariat maintained a set of measures to ensure that the IRCT remains a going concern. The Executive Committee has set the directive for a balanced budget and is taking a low-risk approach in the financial planning. The IRCT is focused on continuously monitoring liquidity and carrying out monthly and quarterly financial analysis and reporting. The Executive Committee reviewed the financial situation and fundraising progress each quarter and takes the guiding decisions accordingly. Following the IRCT policy to change audit firms every 3-5 year, the IRCT procured for a new audit partner and is working with BDO as of 2020. Significant events It was agreed with the Danish Ministry of Foreign affairs that a final review under the current grant should take place in early 2021.