African States are subject to a range of standards to address the trade in goods used for torture. In recent years, we have worked with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), calling for the implementation of existing standards and for African States to lead in the development of new controls at regional and international levels.
The Guidelines and Measures for the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa (the Robben Island Guidelines) Guideline 14 (RIG 14) cites the obligation of States to “prohibit and prevent the use, production and trade of equipment and substances designed to inflict torture or ill-treatment and the abuse of any other equipment or substance to these ends”.
Adopted in December 2020, the Resolution on the prohibition of the use, production, export, and trade of tools used for torture (ACHPR/Res. 472 (LXVII) 2020) calls on African States to act to address the trade in equipment used for torture. It notes States’ existing torture prevention commitments and obligations to prevent the torture trade (such as RIG 14), as well as making recommendations, including that States “address gaps in applicable laws, policies and practice with the view to prohibit and prevent the use, production, export, and trade of equipment of substances designed to inflict torture or ill-treatment and the abuse of any other equipment to these ends”.
Published in 2023 by the CPTA with the technical support of Omega, the Report on the Production, Trade, and Use of Tools of Torture in Africa outlines existing legal frameworks around the trade in and use of tools of torture, and overviews some types of equipment, both those that are inherently abusive and should be prohibited (such as whips and body-worn electric shock) as well as other kinds (including standard handcuffs and batons). The report recommends that African States take national, regional, and international action to address the trade.
