Omega Research Foundation EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In recent decades the prison population in many South American countries has grown dramatically, in part due to the ‘War on Drugs’. The region has also seen widespread social protests due to a range of factors, including political upheaval, corruption, inequality and insufficient investment in public services. International human rights law protects the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and it places an absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. However, states often fail to meet their obligations with respect to these rights. Many South American states have transitioned from military dictatorships to democracies relatively recently and some security forces continue to operate within largely authoritarian structures as tools of repression.1 Common features of these public security regimes include excessive use of force against protesters, abuse of preventive detention, torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, a lack of transparency within law enforcement authorities2 and prison overcrowding.3 UN, regional and national human rights monitors and mechanisms, and non-governmental organizations have documented torture and other ill-treatment against protesters and detainees. This report examines the equipment used to perpetrate human rights violations, the companies involved in its manufacture and trade, and the national and regional export control regimes. The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (BPUFF) require states to adopt and implement rules and regulations on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials.4 Nonetheless, there are no regulations in place to control the actions of some agencies in South America that employ force. Furthermore, the trend towards militarisation of law enforcement has been compounded by the passage of laws that provide ambiguous guidance on the use of firearms against protesters and the exemption of police and military from criminal responsibility for deaths or injuries caused. It is notable that most reported human rights violations against prisoners and protesters in South America are carried out with equipment that could have a legitimate law enforcement function if used appropriately, such as ordinary handcuffs, as opposed to equipment which is inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading, such as thumb cuffs. The report makes recommendations on the use of law enforcement equipment which states are encouraged to implement in order to prevent further abuses. South American countries imported the majority of their law enforcement equipment in recent decades; however, production in several countries has been increasing and exports are on the rise. Several state-owned companies manufacture a range of equipment, sometimes under licensed production agreements. Some privately-owned manufacturers have also grown significantly, particularly Brazil-based companies, and there is evidence of transfers both in the region and beyond. 1 David Pion-berlin, 'Neither Military Nor Police: Facing Heterodox Security Challengers and Filling the Security Gap in Democratic Latin America', Democracy and Security, 2010, VI <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17419161003715710> [accessed 31 May 2016]. 2 For the purposes of this report, law enforcement authorities refers to all public institutions authorized to use force to implement the law. This encompasses policing institutions, prison staff and military forces tasked with maintaining internal order. 3 ACAT, A World of Torture, 2013. 4 United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (UN BPUFF), Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990, Principle 1. 4