Grasping the nettle

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Grasping the nettle: Ending Europe’s Trade in Execution and Torture Technology 55 Transit of goods through the EU Amnesty International and Omega recommend that the Regulation be amended to remove the exemption for the transit of items falling under Annex III of the Regulation, and that this be replaced by a provision inserted to require specific transit authorization for all items listed in Annex III of the Regulation. Promotion and marketing of Regulation goods Amnesty International and Omega recommend that the coverage of the Regulation is extended to prohibit the commercial marketing and promotion within the EU of Annex II items by EU and non-EU registered companies and individuals. In addition to these changes to the Regulation, Amnesty International and Omega recommend that Member States should conduct appropriate promulgation activities so as to ensure that all companies promoting security equipment and also those companies organising trade fairs and other events where such equipment is promoted, are made aware of the Regulation and their obligations under it. Furthermore, Member States should require organisers of trade fairs and similar promotional events to inform all potential exhibitors of the Regulation’s restrictions, and undertake thorough screening and risk assessment of all potential exhibitors to determine the likelihood that they will trade in or promote equipment prohibited by the Regulation. Where a potential exhibitor poses a substantial risk of engaging in such activities the exhibitor should be denied permission to participate, and their details brought to the attention of the relevant national licensing authority. Technical Assistance The Regulation currently prohibits the provision of technical assistance related to Annex II goods. In order to remove ambiguity and to ensure effective and consistent implementation by all Member States, the definition of technical assistance should be amended to explicitly include training in the use of equipment covered by the Regulation. Amnesty International and Omega support the Commission proposals to extend control of the provision of technical assistance to that relating to Annex III goods and recommend that these be adopted by Member States. In addition we recommend that this control explicitly incorporates training in the use of Annex III goods. In addition, Amnesty International and Omega recommend the introduction of appropriate measures to control the supply of technical assistance including instruction, advice, training or the transmission of working knowledge or skills that could aid the commission of judicial executions or torture and other ill-treatment independently of the supply of any equipment falling under the scope of the Regulation. Pharmaceutical chemicals that could be used for the purpose of capital punishment Amnesty International and Omega believe that the Commission proposals are a proportionate and measured response to the risk – allowing effective regulation of the transfer of certain pharmaceutical chemicals that could be used in lethal injection protocols but which have a widespread medical utility - provided EU States establish effective reporting, monitoring and revocation provisions. However, the Commission Proposals as they are currently drafted, particularly Annex IIIa and IIIb, have certain limitations which should be addressed. Index: EUR 01/1632/2015 Amnesty International May 2015
56 Grasping the nettle: Ending Europe’s Trade in Execution and Torture Technology Following the introduction of the new control mechanism incorporating Union General Export Authorizations – as proposed by the Commission, Amnesty International and Omega recommend that the Commission consider amending the list of goods that could be used for the purpose of capital punishment (as listed in Annex IIIa) to include: hydromorphone, midazolam, pancuronium bromide, rocuronium bromide and vecuronium bromide. Given the rapidly evolving situation in the U.S. with a number of States actively exploring new lethal injection protocols, the range of toxic chemicals covered by this Regulation procedure should be regularly reviewed by the Commission and changes made to Annex IIIa as and when required. Amnesty International and Omega recommend that individual EU Member States should be granted the authority to immediately suspend a specific transfer of a pharmaceutical chemical to a particular end user in a case where the Member State has evidence that the chemicals will be employed for inflicting the death penalty. Amnesty International and Omega recommend that those countries presently on Annex IIIb and potentially covered by a Union General Export Authorization, despite retaining the death penalty in their legislation - namely Benin, Liberia, Madagascar and Mongolia – be excluded from this Annex. Halting inappropriate exports, in urgent situations, of goods not listed in the Regulation Annexes Amnesty International and Omega recommend that the EU introduce the following complementary mechanisms allowing relevant bodies to halt inappropriate exports of goods not currently listed in the Regulation Annexes: n Urgency procedures allowing the Commission to quickly amend the Regulation Annexes and thereby control or prohibit the transfer of certain goods, as detailed in the Commission Proposal of January 2014. n A targeted end-use control mechanism which would require Member States to: n suspend or halt a specific transfer of relevant items that are covered under the scope of the Regulation but which are not currently listed in the Regulation Annexes, that clearly have no practical use other than for the purposes of capital punishment, torture and other ill-treatment or where there is evidence that the specific transfer of items would be used to carry out the death penalty, torture and other ill-treatment; n report such transfer suspensions to the Commission and for the Commission (in consultation with Member States) to determine whether such goods should be added to the relevant Regulation Annex and their trade controlled or prohibited. Regular review of the Regulation and its implementation by Member States Amnesty International and Omega recommend that a mechanism be established for a formal biannual review of the Regulation by the Commission in consultation with relevant structures of the Commission, Council and European Parliament. This review should specifically include analysis of: n Annex II, Annex III and Annex IIIa to establish whether existing goods should be transferred to another Annex, or whether further goods designed or marketed for law enforcement should be added as appropriate; n Implementation of the Regulation by Member States including national licensing decisions, reporting to the Commission, notification and consultation mechanisms amongst Member States, promulgation and enforcement. Amnesty International May 2015 Index: EUR 01/1632/2015
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Grasping the nettle

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