In 2006 the European Union introduced the world’s first multilateral trade controls to prohibit the international trade in equipment which has no practical use other than for the purposes of death penalty, torture and other ill-treatment; and to control the trade in a range of policing and security equipment misused for such violations. One of the key weaknesses in the current Regulation is illustrated in this Briefing Paper. Research has uncovered examples of companies marketing and promoting for sale a range of products within the EU, or for export to abroad, which could be used for torture and other ill-treatment.
