United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture Grant Program

The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture supports survivors of torture and their families by providing essential assistance such as medical, psychological, and legal services. Managed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, it collaborates with civil society organizations worldwide to address the needs of vulnerable groups, including children and refugees.

Purpose of the Fund
The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture is a unique UN operation that gives direct help to victims of torture and their families. It was established in 1981 by the General Assembly (resolution 36/151) to focus global attention on the needs of torture victims. The Fund’s aim is to help victims and their families to rebuild their lives and to seek redress for the human rights violations they have suffered.
How the Fund works
The Fund awards hundreds of grants to civil society organizations worldwide to deliver medical, psychological, legal, social and other assistance to the victims of torture. The voluntary contributions that the Fund receives, mostly from Member States, contribute to rehabilitation, reparation, empowerment and access to remedies for nearly 50,000 torture survivors each year.
The Fund is managed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the advice of a Board of Trustees composed of independent experts from the five regions of the world.
Beneficiaries of the Fund
The Fund awards grants to civil society organizations ranging from grassroots and survivor-led initiatives to well-established human rights organizations and rehabilitation centers. The Fund’s grantees provide direct services to torture survivors in situations of particular vulnerability including: children, youth, persons deprived of liberty, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrants including asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons, LGBTI persons, people tortured in detention, victims of enforced disappearances, and victims of sexual violence in armed conflict, among others.