Background

In Resolution 2001/62, the UN Commission on Human Rights called on  “all governments to take appropriate effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent and prohibit the production, trade, export and use of equipment which is specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” and requested the then-UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mr. Theo Van Boven, “to study the situation of trade and production in [-] equipment, its origin, destination and forms, with a view to finding the best ways to prohibit such trade and production and combat its proliferation, and to report thereon to the Commission.”¹  In his 2003 study that followed, the then-Special Rapporteur reminded States of their obligations under Article 2 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), and indicated that: “the enactment of legal and other measures to stop the production and trade of equipment specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is part of this obligation of a general nature to prevent acts of torture.”²

In a subsequent 2004 report to the Commission on Human Rights, the then-Special Rapporteur recommended, inter alia, that States:

• Designate and prohibit the manufacture, transfer and use of certain forms of equipment specifically designed for or which “has no or virtually no, practical use other than for the purpose of” torture, whose use is inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading;
• Introduce strict controls on the export of other security and law enforcement equipment to help ensure that it is not used to inflict torture or ill-treatment;
• Consider the development of an international regulatory mechanism.³

Nearly fifteen years later, amid growing cross-regional support for an international instrument, the General Assembly adopted resolution 73/304, at its 73rd session, on 28 June 2019, entitled “Towards torture-free trade: examining the feasibility, scope and parameters for possible common international standards”. Through this resolution, the General Assembly requested the Secretary General, with the provisions of resolution 72/163 in mind, to seek the views of Member States on the feasibility and possible scope of a range of options to establish common international standards for the import, export and transfer of goods used for (a) capital punishment, (b) torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.⁴  Resolution 73/304 also called on the Secretary General to subsequently establish a Group of Government Experts (GGE) to report on the range of options to establish common international standards.⁵

The UN Secretary General’s report, published in July 2020, noted that of those responding States, the majority supported the proposal to establish common international standards and that a majority were in favour of a legally binding instrument.⁶

In May 2022, the Group of Governmental Experts in their report recommended that any future international standards include a prohibition on the production and trade in inherently abusive law enforcement equipment. The GGE Report also recommended the development of trade controls on law enforcement goods “where there are reasonable grounds for believing” they will be used for torture or other ill-treatment. The GGE proposed two options for international regulation either (i) a legally binding international instrument or (ii) non-binding guidance that could eventually lead to a legally binding instrument. The Group recommended that the question of the death penalty be treated distinctly and separately from that of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.⁷

In resolution 77/209 adopted at its 77th session on 15 December 2022, the General Assembly called upon all States “to take appropriate effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent and prohibit the production, trade, export, import and use of equipment that has no practical use other than for the purpose of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”⁸

Objectives

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, noted in her first interim report to the UN General Assembly in October 2022, that the trade in such equipment will be one of the subjects on her agenda, expressing her view that “some [weapons, equipment and devices used in law enforcement] appear to be designed for no legitimate reason except to inflict unnecessary harm on arrested or detained persons. Where they meet this threshold such devices should be banned outright”.⁹

As a contribution to the ongoing discussions on the regulation of the production and trade in such equipment, the Special Rapporteur is dedicating her next report to the 78th Session of the General Assembly, to be presented in October 2023, on this subject, with a view to updating the general knowledge base around this subject. She notes that there are significant gaps in publicly available information documenting the contemporary scale, nature, and geographic scope of the production and trade in both inherently abusive equipment and law enforcement equipment and weapons misused for torture and other ill-treatment. Similarly, there is a lack of documentation and analysis of relevant national regulations.

As part of the research for this report, the Special Rapporteur kindly requests that all UN Member States complete the following questionnaire, detailing existing national legislation, policies and other measures intended to regulate this trade. The Special Rapporteur would also welcome contributions from other stakeholders including international and national non-governmental organisations, national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms, and companies and private entities involved in the production or trade of law enforcement equipment.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

In order to inform work on this report, the Special Rapporteur seeks to receive contributions from States and other Stakeholders, including through the circulation of the following questionnaire.

Download the questionnaire (PDF):  English

How and where to submit inputs/comments

Input/comments should be submitted through the mandate email: hrc-sr-torture@un.org, by 12 May 2023 18:00 CEST.