An Omega researcher recently spent some time in Geneva, meeting with colleagues, conducting advocacy work, and sharing our expertise.
Omega met with Geneva-based members of the United Against Torture Consortium, including representatives of the Geneva offices of the OMCT, APT, and FIACAT. We discussed several aspects of our shared work, including the campaign for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty. All members of the Consortium are signatories to the Shoreditch Declaration, members of the Torture-Free Trade Network, and are committed to working to end the trade in goods used for torture. Building connections across our organisations is an exciting part of the Consortium; such synergies help us to strengthen the anti-torture movement.
Omega participated in a closed-door expert roundtable on a future Torture-Free Trade meeting in Geneva. The meetings, which brought together experts from a range of fields, was supported and facilitated by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Global Governance Centre and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic.
Following the roundtable, a public event, Curbing the Trade in Policing Equipment to Rights Abusers: How to Make a Torture-Free Trade Treaty Effective closed the discussions. The session was moderated by Nico Krisch (Geneva Graduate Institute) and Ezgi Yildiz (California State University, Long Beach & Geneva Graduate Institute) with contributions from Andrew Clapham (Geneva Graduate Institute), Anna Crowe (Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic), Asger Kjærum (International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims), and Rebecca Shaw (Omega Research Foundation).
Rebecca shared Omega’s research and longstanding expertise on the equipment used in torture and other human rights violations, noting particular human rights concerns about different types of equipment.