can be employed legitimately and if so under what constraints; or whether the manufacture, trade and use of the less lethal weapon should be prohibited. The third section of this paper highlights some examples of current less lethal weapons manufacture and trade to illustrate how the traditional centres of less lethal weapons manufacture which were dominated by companies based in Europe and North American have expanded to now include non-traditional countries or regions of manufacture including Brazil, China, UAE and the Middle East and Turkey. This section also explores some implications of the considerable increase in the number of companies manufacturing, promoting and trading in such equipment and in their geographical spread (including into countries with weak or non-existent controls over product development, manufacturing quality or trade). The final section of the paper will conclude with recommendations for the development of effective regulation of the manufacture, trade and use of less lethal weapons. 2. Examination of three significant less lethal weapons types 2.1 Electric shock weapons 2.1.1. Direct contact electric shock weapons The Omega Research Foundation has documented the development and promotion to prison and law enforcement officials throughout the world of a wide range of direct contact electric shock weapons including electric shock batons, shields, stun guns, stun gloves and electric shock capture devices. Whilst their design varies widely, the electric shock from these weapons and devices is applied directly by hand, as they are pressed against an individual, causing intense localized pain but generally not incapacitating the subject. Although promoted as less lethal weapons, direct contact electric shock weapons and devices, as a result of their nature and design, carry an intrinsic risk of delivering arbitrary force to the targets. Potential injuries include burns, puncture wounds and welts, as well as the risk of secondary injuries should the subject fall. These weapons are also open to conscious abuse, including for torture and ill-treatment, as they allow the user to inflict extreme pain, often without leaving long-lasting identifiable physical traces, at the touch of a button. Documented examples of the abuse of such weapons include the application of sustained shocks, multiple shocks or shocks to sensitive and inappropriate areas of the body, and their use as a punishment. UN and regional torture monitors, and non-governmental anti-torture organizations have recorded incidents of abuse in all regions of the world.v South Africa: electric shock shields used to torture prisoners There have been repeated reports from human rights organisations, the media and prison oversight bodies of the misuse of a variety of direct contact electric shock weapons including electric shock shields by guards in South African prisons. For example, in 2009 an inmate was killed by prison officials at Pietermaritzburg Correctional Centre and the subsequent Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) investigation reported that “[o]fficials used batons, crutches and an electric-shield even when [the inmate was] mechanically restrained”.vi In this case criminal charges were brought against the perpetrators. In the same year, following the killing of an inmate by officials at Ebongweni Correctional Centre, Kokstad, the JICS reported: “[The] deceased [was] brutally assaulted by officials with batons, electric shields and booted feet [who] then failed to provide adequate and timeous medical attention.”vii In 2014 approximately 20 inmates claimed that they had been assaulted and tortured with electric shock shields by prison warders and members of the Emergency