Like all companies, those operating in the law enforcement sector must put in place proactive preventive measures to address the human rights risks that the misuse of their products and services pose. These measures should include robust human rights due diligence policies and processes – separate from those of the state – to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how these companies address both their potential and actual human rights impacts. Adequately conducted human rights due diligence might require companies to go beyond what is legally required in a given jurisdiction; it might also require them to refrain from engaging in business that would otherwise be permitted under state licensing laws. If its product does contribute to gross human rights violations or serious violations of international humanitarian law, a company must endeavour to provide or facilitate prompt and effective reparation, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of nonrepetition. Some companies have acted proactively to stop products and services being used for torture and other ill-treatment and the death penalty. DUTCH COMPANY HALTS PROMOTION OF RESTRAINT CHAIR According to the USA-based manufacturer, Safety Restraint Chair, Inc, its “restraint chair has been sold across the U.S., in Canada, and internationally in countries like Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and South Korea.” 57 The restraint chair manufactured by this company was previously promoted by the Dutch company, De Ridder Products58, which has offices in Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, as highlighted in a previous Amnesty International and Omega Research Foundation report. On 29 April 2015, in response to an information request from Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation, De Ridder Products stated: “After reading your report we have decided to delete the mentioned chair out of our assortment and we have also removed it from our website. After taking everything in consideration we come to the conclusion that this product does not match our vision on safety for the prisoners when used wrongly.”59 DANISH COMPANY PREVENTS TRANSFER OF SHOCK BATONS TO SUDAN According to media reports, on 29 May 2019 a container ship owned by Danish transportation company, Maersk, left the port of Shanghai, China, bound for Port Sudan, carrying 5,000 direct contact electric shock batons within its cargo. Although the cargo was identified and red-flagged, it was mistakenly loaded and shipment commenced. En route to Sudan, however, the shipping company discovered its mistake. It subsequently informed the Danish authorities of its discovery. The 5,000 electric shock batons were never delivered to the intended purchaser – an un-named Sudanese company; instead, according to Maersk, they were subsequently re-exported out of Sudan and disposed of legally.60 Although the identity of the manufacturer/trader and the recipient/intended end user of the shock batons are unknown, the use of electric shock batons for torture and ill-treatment by the Sudanese police and military has been reported by the media and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International.61 57 Safety Restraint Chair, Inc. company website, https://restraintchair.com/our-company.php (accessed 30 October 2020). 58 De Ridder Products, 2015 Was available at: http://www.deridderproducts.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1336. See Amnesty International and Omega Research Foundation, Grasping the Nettle: Ending Europe’s Trade in Execution and Torture Technology (Index number: EUR 01/1632/2015). As stated in its response to Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation, De Ridder Products subsequently removed all details of the safety restraint chair from its website. 59 Email correspondence with Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation from representative of De Ridder Products, 29 April 2015. 60 Nikolaj Houmann Mortensen and Charlotte Aagaard, “Mærsk får bøde for at sejle 5000 torturinstrumenter til Sudan”, Danwatch, 1 October 2020, https://danwatch.dk/undersoegelse/maersk-faar-boede-for-at-sejle-5000-torturinstrumenter-til-sudan/] 61 See, for example, Amnesty International, “They descended on us like rain”: Justice for victims of protest crackdown in Sudan, (Index: AFR 54/1893/2020); “Sudanese teacher was 'raped and killed by special torture unit’”, Middle East Eye, 14 February 2019, https:// www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudanese-teacher-was-raped-and-killed-special-torture-unit ENDING THE TORTURE TRADE THE PATH TO GLOBAL CONTROLS ON THE ‘TOOLS OF TORTURE’ Amnesty International | Omega Research Foundation 25

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