POLICY BRIEF product at the 2014 IFSEC security exhibition, held near recognition of independence, such as the Independent Police Johannesburg, and states that it was developed in response to Investigative Directorate, which investigates complaints against a request from a Middle Eastern customer.25 Imperial Armour the South African Police Service (SAPS); others are the result has an office in the United Arab Emirates and exports to of government policy or have been established to ensure that several countries. Imperial Armour has exhibited at international South Africa meets its international obligations arising from trade exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Libya, treaties and other sources of international law. UK, France, Malaysia and India. In correspondence with Omega dated early June 2016, Imperial Armour stated that they no longer sell the electric shock belt. However, their sales team provided a quote on Force Products’ stun batons, stun shields and stun guns in June 2016. These include the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, which is tasked with monitoring correctional centres in terms of the conditions and treatment of inmates, and the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), which exercises political control over the import and export of South African company R.M. International Trading Enterprises conventional weapons and some non-lethal equipment, and sells electric shock equipment exclusively to international their transit through South Africa, and which is guided by the markets. Its product range includes a ‘stun gun-shock baton’26 internationally recognised Wassenaar Arrangement on Export and a ‘riot stun shield’.27 The company describes itself as ‘a Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and leading force supplying scores of companies in Africa and the Technologies, including non-lethal equipment. Then there is Gulf’.28 It is not clear whether the company exports electric the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons shock equipment from South Africa, or acts as a broker of Mass Destruction (NPC), which was established under the facilitating purchases between other countries. Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act 87 Liquid Bullet, another South African company, sells stun batons of 1993. and stun guns to the ‘local security industry’.29 The company The NPC, which falls under the Department of Trade and has branches in other parts of Africa, including Namibia, Industry, has wide-ranging powers to prevent (through controls Tanzania, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.30 Other South African on manufacture, imports and exports) the proliferation of companies act as suppliers of electric shock weapons for material relating to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, companies based abroad. For example, Dos Group advertises their means of delivery and, with respect to dual-use on its website a projectile electric shock weapon that is technologies, equipment and material. The NPC’s powers of manufactured by US company Phazzer, as well as a Chinese control also extend to, for example, pyrotechnics, riot control ‘taser stun gun’31 and other Chinese-made stun guns.32 agents, and chemicals and chemical precursors. Need for greater trade restrictions on lawenforcement equipment South Africa has one the most progressive constitutions in the world, instituted in 1996, with a Bill of Rights aimed at One could interpret this to mean that South Africa is not adhering to its own aspirations with respect to human rights building a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. A number of state institutions The Civilian Secretariat for Police serves as the technical support and strengthen South Africa’s constitutional advisor to the Minister of Police and provides an oversight democracy, including the Public Protector, the South African function, monitoring the governance, service delivery and Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Gender resourcing of the SAPS. The police service, in turn, implements Equality. These organisations (often referred to as Chapter 9 institutions, in reference to the chapter of the Constitution where they are set out) are independent and impartial. The Bill the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000, which aims to lay the foundation for an effective system of firearm control and management. of Rights enshrines the rights of all people living in the country 4 to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private The manufacture, import, export and sale of these controlled sources, not to be tortured in any way and not to be treated or technologies, equipment and material require permits that are punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way. issued by the NCACC, the NPC or the SAPS. A number of other organisations have also been established, Given this control framework, it is somewhat surprising, then, often through national legislation, to provide independent that South Africa does not either prohibit, or have more rigorous oversight by monitoring state departments and/or functions oversight mechanisms to control, the manufacture and use of, of the state. Some of these receive a level of constitutional and trade in, law-enforcement equipment that can be abused MANUFACTURING TORTURE?: SOUTH AFRICA’S TRADE IN ELECTRIC SHOCK EQUIPMENT