Summary

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Alice Jill Edwards, presents an annual overview of torture-related trends and developments, as well as a thematic study on the global trade in weapons, equipment and devices used by law enforcement and other public authorities that are capable of inflicting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The thematic study includes three separate Annexes where the Special Rapporteur respectively 1) presents a preliminary list of items that she identified as inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading and that, as such, are considered to be prohibited; 2) recommends a list of goods that ought to be regulated at national and international levels, as while they have a legitimate use, they can be misused for torture and therefore necessitate some level of oversight; and 3) depicts the number of companies and/or States trading or promoting equipment that is either inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading, or could be misused for torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The report concludes with a number of recommendations, particularly the development of an international torture-free trade instrument to complement and reinforce existing obligations to prohibit and prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.