Manufacture, trade and use of ‘tools of torture’ in the Council of Europe

This Omega Research Foundation report provides extensive information on the contemporary development, manufacture, promotion and trade by companies based in Council of Europe (CoE) member States of law enforcement equipment that can be readily employed for torture, ill-treatment or the death penalty. The report includes case studies illustrating how such equipment has been employed in torture and ill-treatment within the CoE. It provides recommendations for CoE member States to introduce and/or strengthen measures to effectively regulate this trade within the CoE region.

During 2017 the Legal Affairs and Human Rights (LAHR) Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) undertook a study to “investigate and report on trade in security equipment in the member States of the Council of Europe, and subsequently develop appropriate rules to prevent the trade or brokering of equipment which could facilitate torture and the application of the death penalty”. In December 2017 the findings of the LAHR Committee were published for consideration by the PACE. This report is part of the Omega Research Foundation's ongoing efforts to inform and facilitate the LAHR Committee process and supports its findings and recommendations.