EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/373

(2004/C 78 E/0395)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1543/03

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(7 May 2003)

Subject: Production of equipment and products for capital punishment or torture

Annex I of the proposal for a Council Regulation concerning trade in certain equipment and products which could be used for capital punishment or torture (1) introduces an export ban for equipment and products that can only be used to inflict capital punishment or torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. How much such equipment or products are produced in EU Member States, where and by whom?

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-1540/03, E-1541/03, E-1542/03 and E-1543/03

given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(13 June 2003)

The Commission has made a proposal for the Community to impose restrictions on trade in certain equipment which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment (2). This initiative responds to calls for action by the Parliament and the Council.

The proposal reflects the Union's strong opposition to the application of the death penalty and the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Union adopted policy guidelines in 1998 and 2001. Furthermore, the Union has supported international conventions, treaties and mechanisms addressing these issues. Moreover, the proposal responds to the resolutions on torture adopted by the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights (including at this year's 59th session) which call, ‘inter alia’, for UN Member States to take action, including legislative measures, to prevent and prohibit the export of equipment designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The UN Special rapporteur on torture, Mr Theo van Boven, highlighted the Commission proposal in his recent report on this subject.

A study entitled ‘Crowd Control Technologies’ (June 2000), which was carried out for the Parliament, gives some insight into the production of and trade in some of the equipment and products included in the annexes to this proposal.

The Guidelines to the Union's Policy toward third countries, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, foresee that measures to prevent the use and production of the equipment concerned should also be taken. However, unlike the trade restrictions, such measures do not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community granted by Article 133 of the EC Treaty. For the time being, the Commission considers that, in view of the principle of subsidiarity, measures to prevent the use and production of the equipment concerned should be taken by Member States.

Council Regulation (EC) No 150/2003 of 21 January 2003 suspending import duties on certain weapons and military equipment, provides for a suspension of import duties, if the weapons or equipment concerned are used by, or on behalf of the military forces of a Member State. Some of the equipment and products included in Annex I to the proposed Regulation, such as electric-shock belts and automatic drug injection systems designed or modified for the purpose of execution of human beings, has a CN code falling within the broader chapters of the Nomenclature included in the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 150/2003. The Commission proposal shows, however, that the use of the equipment included in Annex I, which has no, or virtually no, practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment or for the purpose of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is not in line with Union policy and relevant international legal instruments and is therefore illegal. Moreover, with the adoption of the Regulation set out in COM(2002) 770, the suspension of import duties for the materials concerned will no longer apply since their importation itself will be illegal.

(1) COM(2002)770.

(2) COM(2002) 770.