3. International and regional instruments applicable to the transfer of lawenforcement equipment I. International bodies and international law There are currently no regulations in international law specifically covering the development or transfer of law-enforcement equipment. However, the existence of such equipment and its use in torture and ill-treatment are referenced by international bodies and international ‘soft law’. The UN’s Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (BPUFF) state: Governments and law enforcement agencies should develop a range of means as broad as possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of force and firearms. These should include the development of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations . . . The development and deployment of non-lethal incapacitating weapons should be carefully evaluated in order to minimize the risk of endangering uninvolved persons, and the use of such weapons should be carefully controlled . . . 58 In October 2014, in his annual report presented to the UN General Assembly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Christof Heyns, made specific reference to the development of less-lethal weapons.59 The report highlights the fact that, while the development of new (less-lethal) technologies allowing for a graduated response by police forces is to be welcomed, the implications that such devices bring (namely in regard to the potential for loss of life) mean that there may be a need for the establishment of specific sets of minimum standards in relation to the development of weapons, and to training in their use. Heyns also suggested that the international community consider regulating the trade in such devices.60 The call for trade controls on certain goods has been echoed by other UN mandate holders, particularly in the context of law-enforcement equipment that may be used to facilitate torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. In 2003, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Theo Van Boven, published a study on the ‘situation of trade in and production of equipment which is specifically designed to inflict torture or 58
United Nations, UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/UseOfForceAndFirearms.aspx>.

59 Heyns, C., Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Christoph Heyns, A/HRC/23/47 (2014), <http://www.ohchr.org/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/ regularsession/session23/a-hrc-23-47_en.pdf>
60
Heyns (note 59), para. 68, p. 19