event
Global Governance Centre and International Law dep
Friday
17
May
Torture

Curbing the Trade in Policing Equipment to Rights Abusers: How to Make a Torture-Free Trade Treaty Effective

Ezgi Yildiz, California State University, Long Beach
, -

Auditorium A2, Maison de la paix

Join us for our next public event that will explore how a Torture-Free Trade Treaty can be effective in achieving its goals.

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Tear gas, batons, rubber bullets, and other standard policing equipment is routinely used in human rights violations, including repression of protests and excessive use of force during arrests. International law currently does not regulate trade in policing equipment, enabling that equipment to flow easily to police forces with poor human rights records. Civil society groups, in collaboration with supportive states, are advocating for a “Torture-Free Trade Treaty” that aims to fill this gap in international law with two objectives: first, to require states to regulate the international trade in standard law enforcement equipment to account for human rights risks through targeted export controls; and second, to establish an international ban on a subset of law enforcement equipment that serves no legitimate policing objective – examples of equipment in this category include spiked batons and direct electric shock devices.

This event will explore how a Torture-Free Trade Treaty can be effective in achieving its goals. Drawing on the findings of an expert workshop and recent research, speakers will: outline the human rights risks posed by different types of law enforcement equipment and how a treaty could establish a robust process for states to account for these risks in export control processes; and explore the types of institutional arrangements a treaty could establish – such as robust reporting requirements and an international body to monitor states’ compliance – that could give a treaty “teeth” and make it effective in practice. The event format will be a Q&A.

 

Speakers

 

Moderators

  • Nico Krisch – Geneva Graduate Institute
  • Ezgi Yildiz – California State University, Long Beach & Geneva Graduate Institute

This event is co-hosted by the Global Governance Centre and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic

This is a hybrid event. Please register below to attend the event online or in person.

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