Amnesty International, Omega, and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Law Clinic have prepared a document outlining key content and operational features of a prospective international instrument, a Torture-Free Trade Treaty.
A legally-binding Torture-Free Trade Treaty will prohibit the manufacture and trade in inherently abusive law enforcement equipment and control the trade in equipment that can be used for torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
The Essential Elements paper cites relevant existing standards in a discussion covering the potential treaty’s principles and goals, prohibitions and trade controls and monitoring and operational aspects.
Read the paper here.
2023 Thematic Study
In October 2023, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Dr Alice Jill Edwards, released her Thematic study on the weapons, equipment and devices used by law enforcement and other public authorities that are capable of inflicting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
In Annexes to the Study, the Special Rapporteur lists two types of equipment:
- Goods the Special Rapporteur has identified as being inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading and that are therefore considered to be prohibited (Annex I to the thematic study); and
- Goods the Special Rapporteur recommends to be regulated at national and international levels, as while they have a legitimate use, they can be misused for torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
International Support for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty
Civil society organisations from around the world are calling on States to act to end the trade in equipment used for torture. Together, we have signed the Shoreditch Declaration for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty.
We are joined in this call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who used his public statement on the occasion of the 2023 International Day in Support of Victims of Torture to note,
“I am fully supportive of all efforts to limit trade in items that could be used for torture, including through a new international torture-free trade treaty.“
In 2024 at a side event to the African Commission, Mr Hussein Thomasi, the Solicitor General of the Gambia, stated:
“African nations have a very rich history of fighting for human dignity and freedom, shaped by struggles against colonialism, apartheid, and oppressive regimes. Advocating for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty aligns with this legacy, positioning African States as natural and moral leaders in the global fight against human rights abuses.”
Join us
You can join us and demand your government supports a treaty to regulate the trade in policing equipment today to ensure it does not end in the hands of abusive police forces.
Sign Amnesty International’s petition here.