EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Freedom from torture is an absolute right. In all circumstances, in all countries. It is shocking that in spite of this universal ban, the ‘tools of torture’ continue to be freely traded across the globe. It is time to match the global consensus on the need to eliminate torture with concrete action to end this trade.” 1 Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, September 2018. One of the cornerstones of the international human rights framework are states’ positive obligations to prevent and eradicate torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in all its forms and in all circumstances. One now well-established aspect of the fight against torture and other ill-treatment are national, regional and international efforts to establish and enforce prohibitions and controls on the manufacture of and trade in the ‘tools of torture’; these efforts include within their scope similar controls on death penalty goods. THE ‘TOOLS OF TORTURE’ CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO DISTINCT CATEGORIES: • Inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading (abusive) law enforcement equipment and weapons which must be prohibited. This encompasses a relatively narrow range of goods, such as spiked batons, body-worn electric shock devices and leg irons, currently manufactured and/or promoted by a limited number of companies, albeit in all regions of the world. • Law enforcement equipment and weapons that can have a legitimate function, when used in strict accordance with international use-of-force standards, but which can be, and readily are, misused by law enforcement officials to torture or ill-treat people. This encompasses a broad range of goods – including pepper spray, tasers and even simple batons, which are produced and marketed on a significant scale by companies throughout the world. The trade in such equipment and weapons does not need to be prohibited, as above, but instead must be strictly controlled. After presenting a range of illustrative cases of the use and abuse of law enforcement equipment and death penalty goods from across the world, this report presents an Anti-Torture Trade Framework – the culmination of years of research, advocacy and policy collaboration between Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation. The Framework outlines the essential elements required to effectively regulate the trade in law enforcement equipment and death penalty goods. These include prohibitions on a well-defined list of inherently abusive equipment, such as body-worn electric shock devices and spiked batons; and robust human rights controls on the trade in standard-issue policing equipment such as handcuffs, batons and tear gas. They also include prohibitions on devices specifically designed to carry out executions – for 1 4 Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, First Ministerial Meeting of the Alliance for Torture Free Trade, 24 September 2018, http://webtv.un.org/assets/rss/video3804186128001/watch/first-ministerial-meeting-of-the-alliance-fortorture-free-trade/5839498628001/?term=&sort=popular&page=11 ENDING THE TORTURE TRADE THE PATH TO GLOBAL CONTROLS ON THE ‘TOOLS OF TORTURE’ Amnesty International | Omega Research Foundation