Omega Research Foundation

11/08/2026

📢 Protests are fundamental to democratic life. Yet across the world, peaceful gatherings are increasingly met with excessive force and the use of dangerous weapons, which undermines freedom of expression, violates human rights, and in some cases may amount to torture and other ill-treatment.

🪧 Our ‘Guidance Note on Addressing the Misuse of Police Weapons in Protests’ provides practical tools for monitors such as civil society organisations, National Human Rights Institutions, National Preventive Mechanisms, and international human rights observers, to assist in identifying, documenting, and challenging such misuse in a protest context.

The guide offers:
🔹 An overview of the weapons most commonly used to police protests, including guidance on their visual identification, health impacts, and patterns of misuse
🔹 Documentation techniques for civil society organisations and monitors
🔹 Guidance on applicable domestic and international legal standards
🔹 Survivor-centred approaches to evidence gathering
🔹 Strategies for effective litigation and advocacy

👉 Download the guide: https://omegaresearchfoundation.org/reports/challenging-repression-a-guide-to-addressing-the-misuse-of-police-weapons-in-protests/

International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims OMCT FIACAT Association for the Prevention of Torture Redress

07/08/2026

06/08/2026

03/08/2026

This week, we send our very best wishes to Pau Pérez-Sales as he begins his mandate as the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

He has considerable expertise in working to end and prevent torture around the world, including many years supporting survivors and elevating their voices.

We look forward to supporting him and his mandate, including alongside our Consortium colleagues and through the Network.

OMCT, Redress, FIACAT, Association for the Prevention of Torture, Center for Victims of Torture, Physicians for Human Rights, International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims

09/07/2026

🇮🇪 Last month, An Garda Síochána announced a six-month extension of the taser pilot and an expansion of the pilot to the Limerick division in the coming months.

We share deep concerns about the introduction of tasers into front-line Irish policing with our colleagues at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, Mental Health Reform, as well as Prof. Abi Dymond, Dr. Lucy Michael, Dr Illan rua Wall, and Dr Cian Ó Concubhair.

Only a limited amount of information on the use of tasers during the pilot has been made available. What we do know raises serious questions about whether tasers are necessary in Irish policing.

Some kinds of electric shock devices, such as the model of taser that is being used in the pilot, the taser X26P, are included on the UN Special Rapporteur on torture’s list of weapons that can be misused to inflict torture or ill-treatment. This classification highlights the devastating impacts of potential taser misuse and reiterates how tasers should only be used when strictly necessary (i.e., when there is an immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury).

We remain unconvinced that the use of tasers against particularly vulnerable communities has been adequately considered by An Garda Síochána.

Read more about our concerns around the introduction of taser into Irish policing:
🔗 https://omegaresearchfoundation.org/news/iccl-amnesty-international-omega-research-foundation-mental-health-reform-and-academics-warn-against-expansion-and-continuation-of-garda-taser-pilot/

Earlier this year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero, and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Edwards, raised concerns about the acquisition and use of weapons for “crowd control and protest management”:
🔗 https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/ireland-gardai-less-lethal-weapon-expansion-poses-grave-human-rights-risks

Learn more about projectile electric shock weapons:
🔗 https://omegaresearchfoundation.org/what-we-do/electric-shock/projectile-electric-shock-weapons/

These weapons are small, usually pistol-shaped and can fit one or more cartridges, on to the end of the weapon. These cartridges usually contain 2 darts (or probes) attached to thin wires. When fired from the cartridge, the probes deliver an electric shock to the target individual, remaining attache...

08/07/2026

We send our congratulations to Pau Pérez-Sales on his appointment as the new UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment!

He has considerable experience in working to end & prevent torture around the world, including many years working with survivors with Centro SIRA & in his vital role as Editor of the Torture Journal, advancing interpretation of the anti-torture framework.

We look forward to supporting him & his mandate, including alongside our Consortium colleagues & through the Network.

International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, OMCT, Redress, FIACAT, Association for the Prevention of Torture, Center for Victims of Torture, Physicians for Human Rights

| The UN Human Rights Council appointed Pau Perez Sales as Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

06/07/2026

🇧🇩 Omega has just published 'Continuity or Change?', a new briefing uncovering the procurement and use of law enforcement weapons and equipment in Bangladesh before and after the July 2024 uprising.

Drawing on human rights reporting, police tenders, trade data, media reports, and other open-source evidence, the briefing assesses whether policing practices have changed since the fall of the Awami League government.

While we have identified some positive changes, including reductions in the procurement and use of shotgun ammunition containing metal pellets, serious concerns remain, notably the recent acquisition stun batons and rubber bursting grenades.

Stronger transparency and oversight of police procurement are urgently needed.

🔗 https://omegaresearchfoundation.org/reports/continuity-or-change-an-analysis-of-the-procurement-and-use-of-law-enforcement-equipment-in-bangladesh-before-and-after-the-july-2024-uprising/

In this briefing Omega examines the procurement and use of law enforcement weapons and equipment in Bangladesh before and after the July 2024 uprising. We investigate whether the fall of the Awami League government has marked a genuine break with the abusive policing practices of the past. Drawing o...

02/07/2026

🎉 Great news!
✨ Last month, two new States committed to ending the trade in tools of torture!
👏🇦🇩 🇲🇨 Join us in congratulating the Governments of Andorra and Monaco as they join the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade!

In becoming members of the Alliance, Andorra and Monaco join Mongolia, the EU, Argentina, & more than 60 other States in taking this important step to prevent torture around the world.
The civil society Torture-Free Trade Network remains committed to supporting States & to working for international regulation of the trade.

🔗 Read more: https://fpi.ec.europa.eu/news/two-new-members-join-alliance-torture-free-trade-2026-06-09_en
🔗 Learn about the Torture-Free Trade Network & our campaign for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty: https://omegaresearchfoundation.org/what-we-do/trade/torture-free-trade-network/

European External Action Service - EEAS International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims Center for Victims of Torture FIACAT OMCT Redress Association for the Prevention of Torture Physicians for Human Rights

30/06/2026

30/06/2026