19 Chemical irritant grenades Handheld irritant sprays Cartridges with launched CS (tear gas) projectiles only be used “for dispersing groups that present an immediate and direct threat and when conventional methods of policing have been tried and have failed, or are unlikely to succeed”.25 Possible health and/or human rights implications of use in policing assemblies: Exposure to chemical irritants can result in profuse tearing of the eyes, coughing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, vomiting, chemical burns, blistering of the skin and, in extreme cases, death, either through asphyxiation or chemical poisoning. Those affected frequently feel anxiety and panic. The European Court of Human Rights has stated that strong doses of pepper spray “may cause necrosis of tissue in the respiratory or digestive tract, pulmonary oedema or internal haemorrhaging”.26 If launched projectiles containing chemical irritants hit a person directly, they can cause penetration wounds, concussions, other head injuries and death. 25 26 UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) & UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR), Resource Book on the Use of Force and Firearms in Law Enforcement, (New York: UNODC & UN OHCHR, 2017), p. 87, <https://w w w.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/UseOfForceAndFirearms.pdf>. European Court of Human Rights, Oya Ataman v. Turkey, judgment of 5 December 2006, paras. 17-18.