REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the activities and consultations of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Date: 2024-11-19
Institutions: European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Subjects: cruel and degrading treatment, death penalty, dual-use good, exchange of information, export licence, import licence, international trade, third country, torture, trade restriction

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.11.2024  COM(2024) 530 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT             on the activities and consultations of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group referred to       in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 concerning trade in certain goods which could       be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment       or punishment  
 
 
1.  Introduction 

Article 31(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of 16 January 2019 (‘the Regulation’) concerning 
trade  in  certain  goods  which  could  be  used  for  capital  punishment,  torture  or  other  cruel, 
inhuman,  or  degrading  treatment  or  punishment1  requires  the  Commission  to  submit  an 
annual report to the European Parliament on the activities, examinations, and consultations of 
the  Anti-Torture  Coordination  Group  (ATCG).  The  report  must  not  undermine  the 
commercial interests of natural or legal persons. 

This report provides information on the ATCG’s activities in 2023. 

2.  Regulatory framework 

The Regulation’s objective is to prevent capital punishment, on the one hand, and torture and 
other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in countries outside the EU, on 
the other, by restricting trade in certain goods. It distinguishes between: 

-  goods that are inherently abusive and should not be traded at all (Annex II); and 
-  goods that could be used for the purpose of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 

degrading treatment or punishment (Annex III) or for the purpose of capital punishment 
(Annex IV) but can also have legitimate uses, such as law enforcement or therapeutic 
purposes. 

Trade in goods listed in Annexes II, III and IV is subject to certain restrictions. In particular, 
the Regulation: 

i. 

ii. 

prohibits  the  import  into,  export  from  and  transit  through  the  EU  of  goods  listed  in 
Annex  II,  which  have  no  practical  use  other  than  for  the  purposes  of  capital 
punishment or torture. It prohibits the provision of any technical assistance relating to 
such goods, including training in how to use them. It also prohibits advertising such 
goods  in  print  media,  on  the  internet  or  on  television  or  radio,  and  displaying  or 
offering them for sale at an exhibition or trade fair. 

requires  prior  authorisation,  on  a  case-by-case  basis,  for  exports  of  goods  listed  in 
Annex  III,  which  could  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  torture,  but  may  have  other 
legitimate  uses  (e.g.  for  law  enforcement).  A  prior  export  authorisation  is  also 
required  for  supplying  technical  assistance  or  brokering  services  relating  to  this 
category of goods. Annex III does not include: 

a)  firearms subject to Regulation (EU) No 258/20122; 
b)  dual-use items subject to Regulation (EU) 2021/8213; or 

1 OJ L 30, 31.1.2019, p. 1. Having been amended several times, Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 of 27 
June 2005 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, 
inhuman,  or  degrading  treatment  or  punishment  (OJ  L  200,  30.7.2005,  p.  1)  was  subsequently  codified  as 
Regulation (EU) 2019/125. 
2  Regulation  (EU)  No  258/2012  of  14  March  2012  implementing  Article  10  of  the  United  Nations  Protocol 
against  the  illicit  manufacturing  of  and  trafficking  in  firearms,  their  parts  and  components  and  ammunition, 
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UN Firearms Protocol), 
and  establishing  an  export  authorisation,  and  import  and  transit  measures  for  firearms,  their  parts  and 
components and ammunition (OJ L 94, 30.3.2012, p. 1). 

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c)  goods subject to the terms of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP4; and 

iii. 

regulates  trade  in  goods  in  Annex  IV  that  can  be  used  for  capital  punishment  (e.g. 
through lethal injection) but may also to be used for legitimate therapeutic purposes. 
A specific licence authorisation (Union general export authorisation (GEA)) has been 
introduced  to  control  the  export  of  such  goods  and  prevent  their  transfer  for  use  in 
lethal injection executions, without limiting trade in them for medical, veterinary, or 
other legitimate purposes. 

3.  Activities of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group 

The ATCG was set  up pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU) 2016/2134  of the European Parliament 
and of the Council5 to examine questions concerning the application of the Regulation. 

The ATCG serves as  a  platform for Member State experts and the Commission services to 
exchange information  on administrative practices and discuss issues of interpretation  of the 
Regulation,  technical  issues  with  the  goods  listed,  developments  relating  to  the  Regulation, 
and  any  other  matters  that  may  arise.  The  Commission  also  consults  the  ATCG  when 
preparing  delegated  acts,  in  accordance  with  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  13  April 
2016 on Better Law-Making6. 

The  ATCG  met  on  two  occasions  in  2023,  on  27  April  and  on  23  November,  in  a  virtual 
format,  to  exchange  information  on  several  issues  (summarised  below)  concerning  the 
implementation of the Regulation. 

3.1 Developments relating to the basic act 

No delegated acts amending the Regulation were adopted in 2023. 

3.2 Trade information: data reporting 

The Commission presented the state of play on the annual report referred to in Article 26(3) 
of the Regulation. The Commission presented a new functionality whereby authorities in the 
Member States are invited to upload the required data for  reporting purposes directly in the 
DUes library, under the module related to the ‘Anti-Torture’ Regulation. This is intended to 
streamline  and  facilitate  the  aggregation  of  the  data  across  all  Member  States.  The 
information  gathered  includes  notably  the  type  of  good,  the  export  destination  and  the  end 
use.  Those  elements  are  reflected  in  the  Commission’s  annual  report.  The  Commission 
furthermore provided information about the trade data in the report referred to above once it 
was adopted7.  

3 Regulation (EU)  2021/821  of  20 May  2021  setting up a Union regime for the  control of exports, brokering, 
technical assistance, transit, and transfer of dual-use items (recast) (OJ L 206, 11.6.2021, p. 1). 
4 Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing the control of exports of military 
technology and equipment (OJ L 335, 13.12.2008, p. 99). 
5 Regulation (EU) 2016/2134 of the European Parliament and of the Council of  23 November 2016 amending 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1236/2005  concerning  trade  in  certain  goods  which  could  be  used  for  capital 
punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (OJ L 338, 13.12.2016, p. 1). 
6 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
7 COM (2023) 689 final, 8.11.2023 and Annexes 1 to 11 as corrected (C (2024) 2491 final, .10.4.2024 

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3.3 Commission’s informal group of experts 

The Commission continued to inform the ATCG about the activities of the informal group of 
experts formed in line with the conclusions of its review report8. The informal group brings 
together  different  perspectives  (e.g.  advocacy,  law  enforcement,  research,  and  customs).  Its 
function is strictly advisory and complementary to the one provided by the ATCG. 

Throughout 2023, the ATCG was debriefed about the deliberations within the informal group 
of experts related to strengthening the Regulation. The informal group of experts has assessed 
technological developments and new products as well as the use of certain law enforcement 
equipment used in policing practices, including goods used in instances of non-confinement 
such as during peaceful assemblies.  

In order to strengthen the Regulation, and in line with the conclusions of the Commission’s 
2020 review report, the Informal Experts Group (IEG) considered moving some goods from 
one category (Annex III) to another (Annex II) as well as the addition of certain new goods 
that are not currently listed in any of the annexes to the Regulation. Security sector expertise 
from the IEG stated that, when considering goods used for law enforcement or in detention, 
the  essential  consideration  is  whether  they  are  ‘necessary’  and,  if  so,  is  their  design 
sufficiently humane.  

As  regards  the  control  on  pharmaceuticals  that  can  be  used  for  lethal  injections,  key  to  the 
effectiveness of these controls has been the partnership with industry and its self-regulation 
protocols  which  have  proven  instrumental  in  preventing  the  use  of  EU  pharmaceuticals  in 
executions. 

The idea of a blanket prohibition of training in the misuse of any law enforcement equipment 
that  will  facilitate  torture  or  ill  treatment  was  also  raised.  The  discussions  of  the  informal 
group  served  as  inputs  for  a  draft  proposal  for  a  delegated  act  which  was  presented  by  the 
Commission to the ATCG9.  

3.4 Torture-free trade 

The Commission updated the ATCG on the content of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, 
Alice  Edwards’  annual  thematic  report  on  “the  global  trade  in  weapons,  equipment  and 
devices  used  by  law  enforcement  and  other  public  authorities  that  are  capable  of  inflicting 
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, issued on 24 August 
2023. 

In  the  report,  the  UN  Special  Rapporteur  presents  an  annual  overview  of  torture-related 
trends  and  developments,  as  well  as  a  thematic  study  on  the  global  trade  in  weapons, 
equipment  and  devices  used  by  law  enforcement  and  other  public  authorities  that  could  be 
used for inflicting torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. 

The Commission noted the relevance of this report in the context of possible strengthening of 
the EU Regulation.  

8 COM (2020) 343 final, 30.7.2020. 
9 Engagement with experts within the ATCG is in progress. 

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The  report  furthermore  identifies  a  list  of  items  regarded  as  inherently  cruel,  inhuman,  or 
degrading  and  that,  as  such,  should  be  prohibited  (non-exhaustive  list  of  20  types  of 
equipment/weapons).  It  then  recommends  a  list  of  goods  that  ought  to  be  regulated  at  the 
national  and  international  levels.  While  these  items  have  a  legitimate  use,  they  can  be 
misused for torture and therefore necessitate a level of oversight. 

The report concludes with a recommendation to  “develop  an international torture-free trade 
instrument  to  complement  and reinforce  existing  obligations to  prohibit  and prevent  torture 
and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”  

The  Commission  also  informed  the  ATCG  about  a  group  of  over  thirty  civil  society 
organisations from all regions that supports the ongoing efforts towards ‘Torture-Free Trade.’ 
These organisations have joined forces to call for an international treaty to control the trade in 
tools of torture used to suppress peaceful protests and abuse detainees around the world. In a 
declaration signed in London in January 2023, human rights non-governmental organisations 
called for a treaty to prohibit the manufacture and trade in inherently abusive equipment, as 
well  as  the  introduction  of  human  rights-based  controls  on  the  trade  in  more  standard  law 
enforcement equipment. 

3.5 Follow  up  to  the  Commission’s  review  report:  Strengthening  Regulation  (EU) 

2019/125 

The  Commission  outlined  to  the  ATCG  a  draft  proposal  for  a  delegated  act  subsequently 
shared with ATCG experts for their feedback. The draft proposal, designed to strengthen the 
Regulation (EU) 2019/125, builds upon the Commission’s Review report 2020, the work of 
the  informal  group  of  experts,  and  the  Reports  of  the  UN  Special  Rapporteur  torture.  The 
Commission highlighted the October 2023 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, 
Dr Alice Jill Edwards, in which she identifies 20 types of law enforcement equipment which 
are  inherently  abusive  and  should  be  prohibited  and  a  further  17  types  of  law  enforcement 
equipment that can have a legitimate use but can be misused for torture and whose trade must 
be strictly controlled. The Commission underlined that its draft proposal was being prepared 
with the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality in mind and that it will consult 
the Anti-Torture Coordination Group. 

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