| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.41, 4.12.03, p2 |
| Publication Date | 04/12/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 04/12/03 SOME 57 companies in the EU's current and incoming member states have offered to sell, distribute or manufacture electro-shock weapons, according to Amnesty International. A study by the human rights watchdog finds that Germany is the leading country in the enlarged EU involved in the trade of such weapons, with 31 such companies. Soon-to-be member state the Czech Republic follows with eight, then France with seven, Poland with four, and the UK with three. Austria, Belgium, Slovakia and Spain all have at least one firm involved. Although Amnesty regards a draft regulation on stemming the trade in torture weapons published by the European Commission earlier this year as a step in the right direction, it argues that loopholes remain. The proposal is designed to forbid trade between the EU and the wider world of equipment which has "no, or virtually no, practical use other than for the purpose of" torture or execution. But it does not cover intra-EU trade in such equipment, on the grounds that state in the Union uses the death penalty and there are sufficient safeguards in place to prevent torture. According to Amnesty, "the omission of internal trade within the EU could leave scope for suppliers to seek out those export points where member states have the weakest interpretation and weakest implementation of the regulation". Governments' failure to control the expanding trade in and use of security equipment is contributing to the incidence of torture and ill-treatment, reveals Amnesty International in its new report The Pain Merchants published December 2003. |
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