UN Expert Pushes for Global Treaty on Torture-Linked Equipment

The global market for law enforcement equipment has expanded rapidly in recent years, with new technologies and products becoming increasingly available.

A United Nations human rights expert is calling for countries to begin negotiating a global treaty aimed at regulating the trade of equipment that can be used to carry out torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The appeal comes from UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Edwards, who says current national and regional controls are not strong enough to prevent abusive law enforcement equipment from being manufactured, marketed and sold across international borders.

Alongside the call, Edwards released a new Questions and Answers paper outlining why stronger international rules are needed and how existing gaps in regulation continue to allow potentially harmful equipment to circulate globally.

Some Devices Have No Place in Modern Law Enforcement

The report highlights a range of equipment that has been linked to torture and abuse. According to Edwards, certain devices serve no legitimate law enforcement purpose and should be prohibited entirely. Examples include electric shock batons, body-worn electric shock devices, spiked batons and some restraint tools that have been repeatedly associated with serious human rights violations.

The paper also points to equipment that may have lawful uses in some situations but is frequently misused in detention facilities, policing operations, border control settings and during the management of public demonstrations. Edwards argues that the existence of fragmented rules across different countries creates opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers to exploit weaker regulatory environments.

Growing Markets and New Technologies Raise Fresh Challenges

The global market for law enforcement equipment has expanded rapidly in recent years, with new technologies and products becoming increasingly available. Human rights experts fear that without stronger oversight, these developments could increase the risk of abuse. Edwards stressed that the issue extends beyond the equipment itself and includes the commercial networks involved in manufacturing, financing, promoting and transferring such products around the world.

She noted that responsible businesses should not be forced to compete with companies willing to profit from products linked to torture or ill-treatment. The goal, she said, is not to prevent legitimate trade but to ensure commercial activities do not contribute to human rights abuses.

Calls for International Cooperation

The UN expert believes a global treaty would provide a more consistent framework for regulating high-risk equipment while supporting law enforcement agencies that rely on lawful and properly regulated tools. Such an agreement could also strengthen safeguards by ensuring officers receive appropriate training and are equipped only with devices that meet international human rights standards.

Edwards is urging governments to build on existing regional initiatives and work together toward a common international framework. She argues that every step taken to remove abusive devices from the market helps strengthen protections for human dignity and reinforces the global prohibition against torture.

The challenge now, she says, is whether the international community is willing to address not only acts of torture themselves but also the commercial systems that can enable them.