The Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT) is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization that was founded in 1999 with the mission to provide treatment and rehabilitation for Kosovar torture victims. KRCT continuously works to expand its staff’s and the public sector’s capacity to provide services on trauma and torture related issues.

KRCT is also engaged in promoting the respect of human rights for all of Kosova’s ethnicities and in the prevention and eradication of torture and any form of ill-treatment.

After the return of the refugees to Kosova, the need for psychosocial support was clearly present. Therefore, few months later, Feride Rushiti supported by professional collaborators which were previously engaged in Albania (ARCT and ACHR) and throughout the generous support of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) has established the Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims, which is also nowadays leaded by her.

The Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT) was established as a response to the needed for psycho-social support of torture and trauma survivors and systematic oppression exercised against the Kosovo civil population during the Kosovo war (1998-1999) which led to grave consequences in the field of mental health and physicalsocial conditions of this population. Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT) was the place where a team of doctors who worked with dedication, altruism, humanity during the Kosovo crisis in a state of emergency in Albania and right after, with torture and traumatized victims and returnees in a free and independent Kosovo. In this reality, the staff of KRCT has grown and supported by organization as ARCT and ACHR (Albania), which remain part of our history through emergency interventions and support. The situation after the call for humanitarian aid, preparing the preconditions for the first professional mental health entity as KRCT, was welcomed by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the present international community.

KRCT founding aim was to provide treatment and rehabilitation for Kosovar torture and trauma victims, to build management and professional capacities of KRCT staff, committed to promote the respect of human rights for all Kosova ethnicities to prevent and eradicate torture. As is evidenced in the time line, fifteen years on, we are closer to our goal but there remains a lot to be done.

KRCT continues to pursue its mission by helping survivors obtain justice; advocating with government, parliament and international organizations on the need to respect the prohibition of torture and working in partnership with like-minded organizations around the world to eradicate torture.