WRITTEN QUESTION P-0416/01 by Roy Perry (PPE-DE) to the Council. Electric shock weapons.
Date: 2001-02-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: arms trade, export (EU), export monitoring, non-lethal weapon

C 261 E/112

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

the World Trade Organisation (WTO) permits
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement of
members to take measures to protect human and animal
life and health. These should be based on
international standards or, if not, the member must be prepared to provide appropriate justification for the
measures, based on a scientific risk assessment.
the
Commission endeavours to use international standards as the basis, but also consults its scientific
committees for their advice. All measures covered by the SPS Agreement are notified to the SPS
Committee, and the comments received are taken into account. The Commission, having followed the
procedures laid down in the SPS Agreement, considers therefore that its measures are consistent with
WTO rules.

In making its provisions for import measures,

(2001/C 261 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0416/01

by Roy Perry (PPE-DE) to the Council

(8 February 2001)

Subject: Electric shock weapons

Given the risk that the use of what are known as (cid:145)electro-shock(cid:146) weapons may breach the United Nations
Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, which require that (cid:145)the development and deployment of
incapacitating weapons should be carefully evaluated in order to minimise the risk of
non-lethal
endangering uninvolved persons, and the use of
should be carefully controlled(cid:146),
(Principle 3), what action is the Council taking to ensure compliance with that principle in relation to
this type of weapon?

such weapons

Reply

(31 May 2001)

The Member States consider that exports of certain non-military equipment which may be used for
internal repression should be monitored by national authorities on the basis (cid:129) as regards civil goods (cid:129) of
Community rules, in order to prevent equipment originating in the European Union from being used for
acts which violate human rights.

For this purpose the Council has undertaken to draw up a common list of non-military security and police
equipment, the export of which should be monitored in accordance with the second criterion of the Code
(cid:145)respect for Human Rights in the country of final destination(cid:146). Among the items included in this list are
portable devices designed or modified for the purpose of riot control or self-protection by the administra-
tion of an electric shock, including electric-shock batons, electric shock shields, stun guns and electric
shock dart guns and component therefor specially designed or modified for such purpose.

This list will be forwarded to the Commission which is responsible for taking the initiative of proposing a
draft Community mechanism for controlling exports of non-military equipment which may be used for
internal repression.

The Council has taken note of the Commission(cid:146)s intention of submitting as soon as possible a proposal
based on the list, which should include the afore-mentioned items, enabling Community control arrange-
ments to be set up.