Non-governmental organizations from around the globe have joined forces to call for an international treaty to control the trade in tools of torture used to suppress peaceful protests and abuse detainees around the world.
In this submission we, the 57 undersigned organizations, provide information relevant to the Special Rapporteur’s call for inputs on the nature, scope and regulation of the production and trade of law enforcement equipment and weapons and the relationship with torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment from an international perspective. We are part of the Torture-Free Trade Network, which issued the Shoreditch Declaration for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty included in Appendix I. Appendix II contains a summary of a position paper, Essential Elements of a Torture-Free Trade Treaty, outlining the potential content for a future treaty regulating trade in law enforcement equipment.
