Protect the Protest Campaign

As part of our broader campaign to Protect the Protest, Amnesty International is supporting efforts toward negotiating a Torture-Free Trade Treaty, which is currently being discussed at the UN. It would aim to prohibit the manufacture and trade in inherently abusive law enforcement equipment and control the trade in equipment that can be used for torture and other forms of ill-treatment. This includes crowd control items often used against protesters, such as tear gas, batons and rubber bullets. While a patchwork of regional law and standards regulates some of this trade, the absence of international standards has prevented the emergence of a comprehensive and coherent global response. It’s essential that activists and human rights advocates push the U.S. negotiating team to embrace a strong international agreement to restrict the trade in these dangerous items.