Tools of Torture and Repression in South America
Various types of 37/38-mm and 40mm ammunition manufactured by
Condor in August 2012 and found in
Côte d’Ivoire in 2013. Mid-term
Report of the Group of Experts on
Cote d'Ivoire presented to the UN
Security Council, S/2013/605, 14
October 2013, Annex 4.
In August 2013, the EU Foreign Affairs Council announced that Member States had agreed to ‘suspend
export licenses to Egypt of any equipment which might be used for internal repression’.180 This was due
to the disproportionate actions of the Egyptian security forces which resulted in ‘an unacceptable
large number of deaths and injuries’. Although not binding on non-EU states, this suspension sent a
very strong signal to other exporting states. However Brazil did not apply similar criteria to exports of
equipment that could be used for internal repression - exports by Condor to Egypt totalled USD 18,084
in 2015 and USD 1,835,485 in 2014.181
Condor law enforcement equipment has been used against peaceful protesters in several Middle
Eastern countries. First found in 2011, chemical irritant cartridges manufactured by Condor continue
to be found in Bahrain.182 According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign
Trade, Condor exported goods to Bahrain every year from 2012-2014, with USD 10.2m worth of goods
sold in 2012.183 Exports were permitted to go ahead in spite of concerns related to the excessive use
of tear gas raised by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,184 human rights
organisations185 and the BICI report,186 which was commissioned by the king of Bahrain. Some of the
tear gas used against protesters in Turkey in June 2013 was manufactured by Condor. Organisations
such as Physicians for Human Rights and the Turkish Medical Association documented multiple cases
180
Council of the European Union, ‘Council conclusions on Egypt’, Foreign Affairs Council Meeting, Brussels, 21
August 2013, <https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/138599.pdf>
[accessed 1 June 2016].
181
This is the total value of the goods actually exported, not to be confused with the total amount licences
were awarded for. Figures ascertained by correlating information from two databases: Ministério do
Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior,
<http://www.mdic.gov.br//sitio/interna/interna.php?area=5&menu=1444&refr=603> [accessed 24 November
2015] and AliceWeb, http://aliceweb.mdic.gov.br/ [accessed 1 June 2016].
182
‘Brazilian Tear Gas Linked to Recent Death of Abdulaziz Al-Saeed’, Bahrain Watch, 26 January 2015
<https://bahrainwatch.org/blog/2015/01/26/brazilian-tear-gas-linked-to-the-recent-death-of-abdulaziz-alsaeed/> [accessed 1 June 2016].
183
Figures ascertained using official sources, see note 181.
184
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ��Briefing Note on Bahrain’, 20 March 2012
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11989&LangID=E> [accessed 08
December 2015].
185
See, for example, Physicians for Human Rights, Weaponizing Tear Gas: Bahrain’s Unprecedented Use of
Toxic Chemical Agents Against Civilians, 2012,
<http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/reports/weaponizing-tear-gas.html>and Human Rights Watch,
Targets of Retribution: Attacks against Medics, Injured Protesters, and Health Facilities, 2011
<https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/07/18/targets-retribution/attacks-against-medics-injured-protesters-andhealth> both accessed on 1 June 2016.
186
Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry,
2011 <http://www.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf> [accessed 1 June 2016], p.267.
41
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents