Client: DIGNITY Danish Institute Against TortureDIGNITY — Danish Institute Against Torture was founded in 1982 by Dr. Inge Genefke in Copenhagen. It was among the first organisations in the world to establish specialised treatment and rehabilitation for torture victims, and remains a leading international human rights institution with partner organisations in approximately twenty countries. DIGNITY's work spans rehabilitation, documentation, prevention and advocacy — including monitoring of places of detention across the MENA region.
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▮The Brief
DIGNITY came to us through a direct client recommendation — one of our existing clients referred them to us for a sensitive and logistically complex assignment.
The project was a Working Group on Health — MENA Regional Forum for Monitoring of Places of Detention and Prevention of Torture, held in Istanbul. The forum brought together English- and Arabic-speaking participants from across the region to discuss health in detention contexts and torture prevention.
DIGNITY required:
Professional English-Arabic simultaneous interpretation — both directions
Full simultaneous interpretation equipment — booth, sound system, headphones, table microphones
On-site technical supervision throughout the event
The subject matter — torture, detention, health in places of confinement — required interpreters with both humanitarian and human rights expertise. A technically competent interpreter without subject-matter background would produce accurate language and miss institutional register, UN terminology conventions, and the specific sensitivity the context demanded.
▮Our Approach
We selected two senior English-Arabic conference interpreters based in Istanbul with documented backgrounds in humanities and human rights. Not generalists with strong Arabic — specialists with experience in international human rights forums, UN-style proceedings and sensitive humanitarian contexts.
Programme documents and reference materials were sent to both interpreters in advance — enabling terminology preparation and contextual briefing before the event began. In simultaneous interpretation, preparation is not optional. An interpreter who arrives at a human rights forum without prior knowledge of the agenda, the organisations involved, and the specific terminology in use will produce technically correct language that misses the institutional context.
Simultaneous equipment — interpreter booth, sound system, receiver headphones, table microphones — was sourced, installed and tested before the event. An Alafranga supervisor was present throughout to manage technical contingencies and ensure the interpretation ran without interruption.
▮Results
Smooth simultaneous interpretation delivered throughout all sessions. Clear communication between English- and Arabic-speaking participants supported productive working group discussions. The event ran without technical or linguistic interruption.
DIGNITY received interpretation support that matched both the linguistic and institutional demands of a sensitive human rights forum — delivered by specialists who understood the context, not just the language pair.