Right- or Left-Wing, Torture Remains a Global Crime

Tercer Piso. Source Amnesty International

Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, once made a highly debatable distinction between “friendly” right-wing authoritarian regimes—mostly US and Western allies—and “unfriendly” left-wing totalitarian dictatorships, which the United States opposed.

At the same time, successive US administrations were cultivating close ties with a range of authoritarian regimes, particularly in the Middle East, widely accused of imposing emergency laws, detaining dissidents, suppressing the press, torturing political prisoners and enforcing the death penalty.

Kirkpatrick’s distinction between “user-friendly” right-wing regimes and unfriendly left-wing dictators prompted a sarcastic response from her ideological rival, former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who remarked: “It seems to me that if you’re on the rack and being tortured, it doesn’t make any difference whether your torturer is right-handed or left-handed.”

Last month, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards warned that stronger oversight of security and policing trade fairs is essential to prevent prohibited and inherently abusive law enforcement equipment from entering the market. Her warning followed the discovery of such items at Milipol 2025, an arms and security trade fair held in Paris from 18 to 21 November.

“Direct-contact electric shock devices, multiple kinetic impact projectiles and multi-barrel launchers cause unnecessary suffering and should be banned,” Edwards said. “Their trade and promotion must be prohibited across all 27 EU member states and globally.”

Under the EU Anti-Torture Regulation—first introduced in 2006 and strengthened in 2019—companies are barred from promoting, displaying or trading equipment that can be used for torture or ill-treatment. In 2025, the EU further expanded its list of prohibited and controlled law enforcement items, according to a UN press release.

Dr Simon Adams, president and CEO of the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), said the organisation fully supports the Special Rapporteur’s call to halt the marketing, promotion and sale of goods designed solely to inflict human suffering.

“Torture is a crime under international law and is illegal everywhere and at all times,” Adams said. “Companies should not be allowed to market or trade goods that are routinely abused by security forces to commit human rights violations or serve no purpose other than torture.”

“At CVT, we work daily with survivors of torture—many of them refugees from countries where security forces use the kinds of devices displayed at the fair,” he added. “The European Union has been a key partner in the campaign to establish torture-free trade.”

“It is unconscionable that companies are permitted to promote these products inside the EU,” Adams said. “It is grotesque that such products exist at all. This trade in human cruelty must be completely banned.”

According to the UN, a wide range of equipment previously identified as “inherently abusive” was on display at the fair. These included direct-contact electric shock weapons such as batons, gloves and stun guns; spiked anti-riot shields; ammunition with multiple kinetic impact projectiles; and multi-barrel launchers.

The products were marketed by companies based in Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, France, India, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, South Korea, Turkey and the United States.

Among newly banned items under EU law are aerial systems capable of dispersing “injurious quantities of riot control agents.” Despite this, companies were found promoting drones fitted with multi-barrel launchers designed to deploy large amounts of chemical irritants.

After organisers were alerted, swift action was taken to remove the offending items and catalogue materials. Edwards said one state-owned company refused to comply, leading to the closure of its stall.

“The continued promotion of inherently abusive weapons highlights the urgent need for states to adopt the recommendations outlined in my 2023 report,” Edwards said.

While welcoming recent EU measures, she stressed that regional action alone is insufficient.

“The discoveries at Milipol demonstrate why a global, legally binding Torture-Free Trade Treaty is essential,” the UN Special Rapporteur said. “Without coordinated international regulation, abusive equipment will simply find new markets, new routes and new victims.”

She urged organisers of security, defence and policing exhibitions worldwide to introduce robust monitoring mechanisms, enforce bans consistently and cooperate fully with independent investigators.

“Milipol’s response was swift and responsible,” Edwards said. “But the fact that banned items were displayed at all shows that constant vigilance is essential.”

Edwards said she has raised these concerns previously and will continue to monitor developments closely.