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The past year has seen a further erosion of the absolute prohibition of torture, the foundation of the international human rights order. The United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) recalls that torture remains prohibited under any circumstances, including in times of war, and call on all parties and the international community to take immediate action to uphold the global and absolute ban on torture and other ill-treatment. 

On July 16 and 17, 2024, Côte d'Ivoire was examined for the first time by the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), an independent body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention Against Torture.

British company led by retired police officers - including a former Assistant Chief Constable - has been caught on camera demonstrating electric-shock torture equipment at a trade fair in Birmingham. The revelations, made by Amnesty International UK and the Omega Research Foundation, raise serious questions about the enforcement of laws in relation to the prohibition of torture equipment as well as the staging of security equipment trade events, with campaigners saying it should prompt an urgent investigation by West Midlands Police and HM Revenue & Customs, as well as the trade fair organisers, Nineteen Group Ltd. 

This toolkit is designed to help activists, protest monitors, and human rights defenders collect evidence of violence or excessive use of force by security forces

In November 2023, investigators from Omega and Amnesty International French Section were granted access to monitor the Milipol international security equipment trade fair, then taking place in Paris, by the fair’s organisers, Civipol and Comexposium.