The absolute ban on torture and ill-treatment enshrined in core United Nations human rights conventions is reflected at EU level in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states that ‘No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. The Charter also prohibits capital punishment.
The EU’s Anti-torture Regulation reflects the EU’s commitment to the eradication of torture and the death penalty through measures to prevent the trade in certain goods that could be used for capital punishment or torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Regulation:
- prohibits exports and imports of goods that have no practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment or for the purpose of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
- makes exports of goods that could be used for capital punishment, for torture or for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, subject to a prior export authorisation issued by the competent authorities of the EU Member States;
- regulates the trade in certain pharmaceutical chemicals which could be used for in lethal injection executions, without limiting trade of such chemicals for legitimate purposes;
- sets out the destinations to which a European Union Export Authorisation applies, because those countries or territories have abolished capital punishment for all crimes and confirmed that abolition through an international commitment.
The role of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
As part of its responsibility for foreign policy-related regulatory instruments, the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) is the lead service for Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of 16 January 2019 concerning trade in certain goods that could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (‘Anti-Torture Regulation’). This Regulation consolidates the various amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 that were adopted since its entry into force.
The latest amendment is the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/928 of 21 May 2025, which responded to the increase in torture and other ill-treatment in extra-custodial settings in many parts of the world. Nine new categories of goods have been added to the list of ‘prohibited’ goods and six to the list of ‘regulated’ goods. The latter now includes the Kinetic Impact Projectiles (KIPs), whose misuse to repress protests has been reported in different countries of the world, causing serious injury and even death.
Review of the Anti-torture Regulation
On 9 December 2025, the Commission adopted its report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the review of implementation of the ‘Anti-Torture’ Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of 16 January 2019 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment).
It provides a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the Regulation over the past five years and identifies possible areas for improvement and further action. The review report concludes that the Regulation is being implemented satisfactorily and continues to be fit for purpose and to fill an identified gap in EU human rights-based controls. It confirms the continuous relevance of the Regulation, while acknowledging the need to ensure it addresses technological and market developments and their use by law enforcement in third countries. The report is available here.
The Alliance for Torture-Free Trade
The EU cooperates with partners around the world to translate its commitment to eradicating torture and death penalty into concrete actions. In September 2017, the EU, inspired by the ‘Anti-Torture’ EU Regulation, and together with Argentina and Mongolia, launched the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade. Since then, sixty-four countries have joined the fight to end the trade in goods used to carry out the death penalty and torture. Alliance members commit to take measures to control and restrict exports of such goods used through domestic legislation and efficient enforcement.
In September 2018, the Alliance called for a United Nations General Assembly Resolution on torture-free trade. The adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution on 21 June 2019 marked an early and important success. Following up on that resolution, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, on behalf of the UN Secretary General, conducted further work, leading to a report of the UN Secretary General (‘Towards torture-free trade: examining the feasibility, scope and parameters for possible common international standards’). This report constitutes a further milestone in that it recognizes that the establishment of common international standards could ensure more effective regulation in this area.
A UN group of governmental experts (GGE) continued work on the basis of the report of the UN Secretary General, which resulted in a report presented to the UN General Assembly for its consideration at its seventy-sixth session in 2022 .
The GGE agreed that some parts of the lists of goods prohibited and controlled by the ‘Anti-Torture’ EU Regulation could also serve as a starting basis for discussions around potential common international standards, but that inspiration should also be drawn from additional models and practices beyond the EU.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in her 2025 thematic report urged those States that have not yet joined the Alliance to do so. The EU remains committed to the eradication of torture and the death penalty.