I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2109

To limit the sale or export of plastic bullets to the United Kingdom.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 9, 1999

Mr. PAYNE (for himself and Mrs. MALONEY New York) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To limit the sale or export of plastic bullets to the United

Kingdom.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Ireland

5 Peace Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Since the British Army and the Royal Ul9 ster Constabulary in Northern Ireland have begun to

10 use plastic bullets as weapons, thousands have been
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1 injured and 17 individuals have been killed by such

2 bullets, including seven children.

3 (2) Since the Royal Ulster Constabulary began

4 to use plastic bullets in 1973, more than 54,000

5 rounds have been fired, and plastic bullets have com6 pletely replaced rubber bullets.

7 (3)(A) Plastic bullets are often used in a sec8 tarian manner.

9 (B) During the standoff at Drumcree from July

10 7, 1996, to July 14, 1996, the security forces of the

11 United Kingdom in Northern Ireland fired a total of

12 5,942 rounds of plastic bullets, of which 5,500 were

13 targeted at Catholic Nationalists.

14 (4) Before the Drumcree standoff, six civil lib15 erties/human rights groups, including the Committee

16 on the Administration of Justice in Northern Ire17 land, the British Irish Rights Watch, and Liberty,

18 asked the chief constable in Northern Ireland to

19 ‘‘immediately and permanently withdraw plastic bul20 lets from use’’.

21 (5)(A) The use of plastic bullets is counter22 productive whether such use is against the residents

23 of the Lower Ormeau Road and the Bogside or

24 against the Orange Order marchers in Portadown or

25 on the Upper Ormeau Road.
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1 (B) The use of plastic bullets has contributed

2 to thousands of maimings, difigurations, loss of eye3 sight of individuals, and overwhelmingly caused

4 other widespread violence and intimidation.

5 (6) The United Campaign Against Plastic Bul6 lets claim that the use of plastic bullets has caused

7 further alienation of nationalists and increased dis8 trust of the security forces of the United Kingdom

9 while contributing to the destabilization of Northern

10 Ireland.

11 (7) The efforts of the Government of the

12 United Kingdom to acquire dangerous weapons and

13 related materials and the means to deliver such

14 weapons and materials endanger the lives of Catho15 lics in Northern Ireland.

16 (8) The Committee on the Administration of

17 Justice in Northern Ireland reported that the use of

18 plastic bullets during riots only exacerbates the situ19 ation in Northern Ireland and increases rioting rath20 er than quelling it.

21 (9) The European Parliament has passed four

22 separate motions calling for the ban of plastic bul23 lets because such bullets are used as intimidating

24 weapons.
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1 (10) The Government of the United Kingdom

2 has banned the use of plastic bullets during riots in

3 Great Britain on the grounds that such bullets are

4 dangerous and lethal.

5 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

6 The Congress declares that it is the policy of the

7 United States to deny to the United Kingdom the ability

8 to support acts of violence and destruction and to fund

9 the development and acquisition of plastic bullets and the

10 means to deliver such bullets by limiting the ability to im11 port, manufacture, and transport plastics to the United

12 Kingdom for the specific use in Northern Ireland against

13 predominately Catholic enclaves.

14 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON SALE OR EXPORT OF PLASTIC

15 BULLETS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, plastic bullets may not be sold or other18 wise exported to the Government of the United Kingdom

19 or to any other entity in the United Kingdom, including

20 the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

21 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The President may

22 exercise the authority provided to the President under the

23 Arms Export Control Act for the purpose of carrying out

24 subsection (a), including the authority relating to viola-
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1 tions and enforcement under section 38(e) of such Act (22

2 U.S.C. 2778(e)).

3 SEC. 5. BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL INITIATIVES TO

4 LIMIT THE SALE OR EXPORT OF PLASTIC

5 BULLETS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to further the objectives

7 described in section 3, the President shall establish and

8 carry out appropriate diplomatic initiatives, both bilat9 erally with allies of the United States and multilaterally

10 in appropriate international fora (including the United

11 Nations), to limit the sale or export of plastic bullets to

12 the Government of the United Kingdom or any other enti13 ty in the United Kingdom, including the Royal Ulster Con14 stabulary.

15 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 6 months after the

16 date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically there17 after, the President shall prepare and transmit to the Con18 gress a report containing a description of the extent to

19 which the bilateral and multilateral efforts described in

20 subsection (a) have been successful, including the names

21 of the countries that have agreed to limit the sale or export

22 of plastic bullets to the United Kingdom, including the

23 Royal Ulster Constabulary.
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1 SEC. 6. INCLUSION OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING USE OF

2 PLASTIC BULLETS AS WEAPONS IN NORTH3 ERN IRELAND IN ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS

4 REPORT.

5 As part of the annual human rights report trans6 mitted to the Congress under section 502B of the Foreign

7 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304), the Secretary

8 of State shall include a description of each incident involv9 ing the use of plastic bullets as weapons in Northern Ire10 land during the preceding year.

11 SEC. 7. DEFINITION.

12 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘plastic bullet’’ means

13 a projectile made of rock-hard polyvinyl chloride that—

14 (1) is approximately 4 inches long and 1.5

15 inches in diameter;

16 (2) weighs approximately 4.75 ounces; and

17 (3) is usually off-white in color.

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