• Some launched kinetic impact projectiles: UNODC/UNOHCHR
Resource Book states that ‘weapons that fire multiple projectiles
at the same time, or that otherwise cannot be targeted at a
specific individual, should never be used due to the risk of
injury to bystanders’.
• Automatic firearms: The UNODC/UNOHCHR Resource Book
states that ‘an automatic firearm will continue to fire as long
as the trigger is pressed until the magazine is empty... Law
enforcement officials should not use their firearms in fully
automatic mode… in view of the great risk of death or serious
injury to people that do not pose an imminent threat to
life… Equipping officers with such weaponry is incompatible
with the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms’
(henceforward referred to as the Basic Principles)’.
It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive, indeed, the current
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Nils Melzer (2017, point
51) has noted that ‘a weapon has to be considered as inherently
cruel, inhuman or degrading if it is either specifically designed or
of a nature (that is, of no other practical use than) to: (a) employ
unnecessary, excessive or otherwise unlawful force against persons;
or (b) inflict pain and suffering on powerless individuals’.
Section 1.2: Places of detention where weapons must
not be used
The UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their
Liberty (Rule 65) notes that ‘carrying and use of weapons by
personnel should be prohibited in any facility where juveniles are
detained’ – although the term ‘weapon’ is not defined, and so it
is not clear precisely what equipment is covered by this provision.
Restraints are not automatically prohibited, but can only be used
in the ‘exceptional cases’ (Rule 64) discussed in Section 2.2.6 of
this document. Similarly, the United Nations Model Strategies
and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against
Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
(2015) prohibits‘ the carrying and use of weapons by personnel
in any facility where children are detained’ (Model Strategy 39d)
and ‘any form of violence or threats of violence against children by
staff of places of detention in order to force children to engage in
activities against their will’ (Model Strategy 39f).
Checklist for detention monitors: Documenting prohibitions on carrying weapons in places of juvenile
detention, and on certain types of weapons
1)
Are weapons carried, used, or authorised for use in facilities where juveniles are detained?
2)
Are any of the restraints in use, or authorised for use, ‘inherently degrading or painful’?
3)
Are detainees restrained to fixed objects, and / or do regulations authorise this practice? Are there fixed
installations (e.g. metal rings) which could be used for restraining detainees?
4)
Are the restraints weighted and / or do they have a rigid bar between the leg restraints? Is it possible to adjust
the size of the cuffs, to prevent injury from the application of cuffs that are too small / tight?
5)
Are restraints that are designed to be applied to the thumbs or fingers authorised for use, or otherwise used, in
places of detention?
6)
Are cage beds or net beds authorised for use, or otherwise used, in places of detention?
7)
Are restraint chairs, shackle boards and shackle beds authorised for use, or otherwise used, in places of detention?
8)
Are body worn electric shock devices authorised for use, or otherwise used, in places of detention?
9)
Are spiked batons and shields authorised for use, or otherwise used, in places of detention?
10) Are whips, in particular those with multiple lashes and / or those fitted with objects to enhance its impact
authorised for use, or otherwise used, in places of detention?
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