China (23-09-14)
(CIPATE) in Beijing 05 2009. © Feng Li / Getty AFP
The booming trade sector, The manufacturing and export of torture instruments by Chinese companies is fueling human rights violations across Africa and Asia, as revealed by new research carried out by Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation.
The new report, titled China’s Trade in Tools of Torture and Repression, shows that there are already more than 130 Chinese companies involved in the manufacturing and trading of hazardous material law enforcement, in front of just 28 who were dedicated to this sector a decade ago.
Some of the devices openly marketed by these companies –including electric batons, batons with metal spikes and weighted leg shackles– They are inherently cruel and inhumane and, therefore, should be banned immediately.
Other materials –that may have legitimate use in police work, like tear gas, plastic projectiles or riot vehicles– are being exported from China even though there is a substantial risk that law enforcement in receiving countries will use them to commit human rights violations.
“There are more and more Chinese companies that are benefiting from the trade in tools of torture and repression, fueling human rights abuses around the world”, said Patrick Wilcken, researcher on trade in security equipment and human rights at Amnesty International.
“This trade, that causes immense suffering, is booming because Chinese authorities have done nothing to stop companies from supplying these nauseating devices or police equipment from falling into the hands of elements known to commit human rights abuses.”
Chinese companies –mostly state-owned– have an increasingly strong presence in the global market for equipment for law enforcement forces.
China is the only country known to manufacture spiked batons: batons that have metal spikes along their entire length, or plastic batons with a pointed metal head. They are specifically designed as torture tools, and can cause considerable pain and suffering.
Several Chinese companies openly advertise these inhumane batons for export. According to the information received, Cambodian police have used Chinese-made spiked batons, and these batons have also been exported to the security forces of Nepal and Thailand.
The investigation concluded that 29 Chinese export companies advertised inherently cruel electric batons. With these devices, Security officers find it easy to manually deliver multiple electric shocks, extremely painful, in sensitive areas of the body, like genitals, the throat, groin or ears, without leaving lasting physical traces.
Dozens of Chinese companies manufacture and market abusive restraint devices, like shackles for legs that carry a heavy weight, or rigid immobilization chairs; a company makes combination neck cuffs. These neck devices can endanger a person's life by limiting breathing., blood circulation and nerve communication between the body and the brain.
Study of the materials marketed by several of the companies reveals that these materials are being sold to various law enforcement agencies around the world., including some who commit persistent human rights abuses.
“There is no excuse to allow the manufacture and marketing of a material whose main purpose is to torture or inflict cruel treatment.”, inhuman or degrading to people. These heinous acts are totally prohibited under international law, and the Chinese authorities must immediately prohibit the manufacture and marketing of these cruel and inhumane devices.”, said Patrick Wilcken.
a company –China Xinxing Import / Export Corporation, that has advertised materials such as thumbcuffs, immobilization chairs, and electric weapons and batons– declared in 2012 who had links with more than 40 African countries, and maintained commercial relations with Africa worth 100 million US dollars.
Amnesty International and Omega found evidence of what appeared to be Chinese-made electric batons used by police in Ghana, Senegal, Egypt and Madagascar.
Chinese companies also continue to export material that can only have legitimate law enforcement use if such use complies with international standards and if officers are properly trained and held fully accountable for their actions.. However, The report cites cases of potentially dangerous law enforcement material being exported from China to countries where there is a substantial risk that such material will contribute to serious human rights violations..
One example highlighted in the report is a large shipment of “riot control” material” Chinese exported to Uganda in February 2011 despite concerns that torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the police were widespread in the country.
Two months later, Ugandan security forces used Chinese riot gear to harshly repress protests against the rising cost of living in the country. During the violent repression, in which at least nine people were shot dead, More than a hundred were injured and 600 were arrested, Chinese-made armored vehicles were used.
Chinese riot gear was also used to suppress dissent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the elections in 2011, that gave rise to violence in which at least 33 people died and 83 were injured. The export took place despite indications that security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were committing widespread human rights violations.
Report shows that China's controls on the export of law enforcement materials are weak and opaque and do not appear to evaluate the human rights record of the receiving country.
“China’s poor export system has allowed the trade in torture and repression to flourish.”. “There is an urgent need for Chinese authorities to fundamentally reform their trade regulations to end the irresponsible transfer of law enforcement material to agencies that are likely to use that material to violate human rights.”, said Patrick Wilcken.
The Chinese export system is not alone in failing to effectively monitor the transfer of law enforcement material to ensure it respects human rights.. The global trade in this type of material is poorly controlled, and even countries –like some from EU or USA– Those with more comprehensive regulations must improve them and close gaps as new products and technologies come to market..
The growth of China's international trade in tools of torture and repression has taken place against a backdrop of ongoing human rights violations committed in China itself.. Torture and ill-treatment, as well as the use of arbitrary force, remain widespread during the arrest and repression of protests in the country. Amnesty International has documented a wide range of physical torture in China, including some that involved the use of electric batons.
A Chinese torture survivor told Amnesty International: “[The policemen] They put an electric baton in my face; It is a type of torture that the police call 'bengbao popcorn', because your face opens up and looks like a dove. The smell was horrible, “burned skin”.
The report also highlights the widespread misuse of mechanical restraint devices against detainees in China.. Many detainees reported that they had been tied by the wrists and ankles, They had been hung from the ceiling or forced to remain in tense positions..
Amnesty International and Omega urge the Chinese authorities and those of all other countries to:
- issue an immediate ban on the manufacture and marketing of inherently abusive material;
- immediately suspend or deny business licenses for the supply of other materials to law enforcement agencies and forces where there is a substantial risk that those materials will be used to commit or facilitate serious human rights violations;
- establish regulations and practices to control exports of police and security equipment that may have a legitimate use but can easily be used for abuse;
- end all acts of torture and cruel treatment or punishment, inhuman and degrading, as well as the arbitrary use of force, and investigate all allegations of such acts to bring those responsible to justice.
