Other Crowd Control 7.11 WATER CANNON A high-pressure system that shoots jets of water, often mixed with chemical irritants or dye, over dozens of metres. Key Technical Features Water cannon are often mounted on crowd control vehicles, but they can also be mounted on buildings or carried as a backpack. Water cannon are used to disperse crowds, keep crowds at a distance, and support police cordons. The power of the water jet can knock a person over, push people into fixed objects, or pick up loose objects and propel them as missiles. Human Rights Concerns When water cannon contain a mixture of water and chemical irritants, it impossible to deliver accurate and targeted doses of the irritant. As such, they are indiscriminate and potentially harmful. In the context of a public gathering, any use of water cannon will affect all people in the vicinity, creating a high likelihood of affecting bystanders. Even when targeting those engaged in criminal activity, use of water cannon risks causing them disproportionate harm. The use of water cannon at sub-zero temperatures can cause hypothermia and frostbite. Statements and Standards from Human Rights Bodies UNODC and OHCHR: “A water cannon should not be used indiscriminately against a crowd ... Water cannons should not be used against anyone who is unable to move, for example protesters who have locked themselves on a fence, older persons, injured persons or persons with disabilities, children and individuals at elevated height.” 133 ODIHR: recommendations on the use of water cannons include, “[They] should never be used to disperse a peaceful assembly” and “The presence of a water cannon can be seen as intimidating or as a provocation by the participants in the assembly” 134 The US CCL controls the export of this equipment. Examples of Existing Controls The EU may prohibit the export of this vehicle under its sanction regime when the objective of the sanctions is to prevent the export of equipment that might be used for internal repression. Depending on specification, some countries also control the export of the crowd control vehicles on which water cannon are mounted. Manufacture should be controlled. Proposed Control Trade and transfer should be controlled. Use should conform with international human rights standards. 133 UNODC and OHCHR, Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement, 2017, p. 90. 134 OSCE/ODIHR, Human rights handbook on policing assemblies, 2016, pp. 77-78. 137