The civil society Torture-Free Trade Network, a coalition of over 85 civil society organisations from across the world advocating for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty, welcomes the publication by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Dr. Alice Edwards, of her Recommendations for a Torture-Tree Trade Treaty.
It comes at a time when the global market for law enforcement equipment is growing and cases of misuse of this equipment – in protest, on the streets, in places of detention and elsewhere – continue to be documented worldwide.
The Special Rapporteur’s paper answers critical questions about why a global treaty is needed, what its scope should be, and some essential steps that States need to take to push forward this agenda. Building on the groundwork laid in her 2023 thematic study on the global trade in law enforcement equipment, this paper now adds the UN expert voice to the clear call for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty made by survivors and civil society.
The paper highlights the regulatory gap at the global level that allows inherently abusive tools of torture to continue to be produced and sold, and other law enforcement equipment and less lethal weapons to be traded with little or no oversight. Such weapons and equipment are misused around the world, causing physical and psychological harm that can amount to torture or other ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur explains that an internationally binding treaty that prohibits inherently abusive law enforcement equipment and regulates the trade in other law enforcement equipment is a tangible step that States can take to prohibit and prevent torture and other ill-treatment in line with their existing obligations under international law.
Crucially, the Special Rapporteur provides practical recommendations as to how the two categories of equipment (as defined in Annex 1 and Annex 2 of her previous study) could be captured in a Torture-Free Trade Treaty, and how such an instrument would fit within States’ existing obligations, as well as how States can deal with concerns related to trade and to other pressing human rights issues such as the death penalty.
The Special Rapporteur’s Recommendations will be an important resource for governments, civil society, and regional and international bodies working towards new international law on torture-free trade. The Torture-Free Trade Network looks forward to continuing to support these efforts.
