Amnesty International on Thursday called for a global, legally binding treaty to regulate the production and use of electric shock equipment such as stun guns and electric shock batons.
The rights monitor said the “inherently abusive” equipment was being used by law enforcement agencies for “torture and other ill-treatment” in countries including China, Venezuela and Iran.
Electric shock equipment was being used in a range of detention settings including prisons, mental health institutions and migrant and refugee detention centres, the London-based group said a report.
“Direct contact electric shock weapons can cause severe suffering, long-lasting physical disability and psychological distress. Prolonged use can even result in death,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s researcher on military, security and policing issues.
The study also looked at the “escalating” use of projectile electric shock weapons (PESWs) which attach to the target and can deliver an immobilising shock.
According to the report, PESWs could sometimes have a legitimate role in law enforcement but were often misused, including cases of “unnecessary and discriminatory use”.
“Direct contact electric shock weapons need to be banned immediately and PESWs subject to strict human-rights-based trade controls,” Wilcken said.
Despite “clear human rights risks” there are no global regulations controlling the production of and trade in electric shock equipment, he added.
This lack of clarity is exacerbated in cases when PESWs are used for torture and other ill-treatment, as the reports often do not indicate whether the weapon was employed from a distance or was instead used in “drive stun” mode as a direct contact weapon.
Serious injuries linked to use of PESWs included penetration of the skull, eye, internal organs and testis as well as burns, seizures and arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeat, according to Amnesty.
“Given the high risks of primary and secondary injuries, the use of PESWs must be set at a high threshold,” Wilcken said.
“These weapons should only be used only in situations involving a threat to life or risk of serious injury which cannot be contained by less extreme options,” he added.
The study found that at least 197 companies mostly based in countries such as China, India and the United States were involved in the manufacture or promotion of direct contact electric shock equipment for law enforcement.
US-based Axon Enterprise said its TASER models, which are the most widely-used PESWs, are used by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 80 countries.
Amnesty backed by a network of over 80 organisations globally is calling for torture-free trade treaty to regulate the trade and use of a range of law enforcement equipment.
The report, “I Still Can’t Sleep at Night — The Global Abuse of Electric Shock Equipment”, is based on research carried out from 2014-2024 in over 40 countries.