Last month, Omega went to the United Nations Headquarters to call on States to act to end the trade in tools of torture.
Side Event
Dr Rebecca Shaw, an Omega senior researcher, spoke on Omega’s work at a side event to the UN General Assembly.
Other speakers at the side event, Tackling the Trade in Tools of Torture: The Path Forward, also included
- H.E. Ambassador Ankhbayar Nyamdorj, Permanent Representative of the delegation of Mongolia to the UN,
- H.E. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Permanent Representative of the European Union to the UN,
- Dr Alice Jill Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
- Ms Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and
- Ms Juliana Miranda, Head of International Legal Team, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
The event discussed how international trade restrictions on law enforcement equipment can help prevent torture and other ill-treatment, and considered the rationale for a comprehensive Torture-Free Trade Treaty.
The side event was sponsored by France, Mongolia, the European Union, Amnesty International, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), CELS, and Omega.
You can watch the side event here.
Advocacy Mission
While in New York, Omega advocacy mission was on behalf of the Torture-Free Trade Network, of which Omega is a member of the Core Group. It included representatives from Amnesty International, Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (USA), the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), CELS (Argentina), The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) (South Africa), The Pan-African Reparations Initiative (PARI), and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) (USA).
The civil society delegation met with UN Special Procedures and State representatives to update on recent developments and discuss future action. We encouraged States to further their engagement with the campaign for a legally-binding Torture-Free Trade Treaty.
We continue to build on the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture’s 2023 thematic study examining the trade in equipment used for torture and other ill-treatment. Omega provided research and analytical support for this study.
Learn More
Omega has a long history of working for controls on the trade in law enforcement equipment used for torture and other ill-treatment at national, regional, and international levels. We are pleased to be able to use our expertise to support the campaign for a Treaty, and to learn from the expertise of other Network members.
Please contact us for more information.
The Torture-Free Trade Network brings together a wide range of civil society organisations from around the world, united by our commitment to a Torture-Free Trade Treaty. Members include all United Against Torture Consortium organisations. Your organisation can sign the Shoreditch Declaration and join the campaign here.
Want to take action now? Join over 250,000 other people and sign the petition calling on States to act.
