Minister of Interior admitted it was used, but claimed that it was deployed in such a way as to avoid hitting any of the people who were in the sea. However, survivors told Spanish NGOs that some of them were hit by rubber bullets when they were in the sea and that the tear gas fired by the Civil Guards made it difficult for them to see and breathe. xxxvii Turkey: wide-spread excessive and inappropriate RCA use against demonstrators The excessive and inappropriate use of tear gas and pepper spray by the Turkish police and security forces during the anti-Government Gezi Park protests in 2013 was the subject of an urgent appeal sent by the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture; extra-judicial execution; human rights defenders; freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and 4 other UN Special Procedures mandate-holders.xxxviii A particular concern documented by human rights organisations was the firing and throwing of RCA cartridges and grenades into confined spaces such as residential buildings where protesters had sought refuge and the repeated use of tear gas at the entrance of, or inside, makeshift health clinics where injured people were being treated.xxxix According to reports, police repeatedly used hand-held pepper spray devices abusively against peaceful protesters, including by spraying pepper spray in protesters’ eyes as a punishment when they were apprehended at the scene of demonstrations.xl Reportedly, four people including one police officer died after being exposed to large amounts of tear gas.xli 2.3.1. “Wide area” means of RCA delivery The Omega Research Foundation and the University of Bradford have documented the development and promotion of a growing range of systems capable of delivering significant amounts of RCA over wide areas or extended distances, some of which have the potential to cause substantial injuries to those targeted and to bystanders. These include certain largecapacity spraying devices, automatic grenade launchers, multi-barrel projectile launchers and large calibre RCA projectiles.xlii A contemporary trend has been the related development of “remote control” RCA means of delivery including unmanned ground vehicles or unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) capable of carrying RCA-spraying devices or RCA projectile launchers.xliii The use of “wide area” and “remote control” RCA means of delivery raises serious questions as to whether and under what circumstances such use can be in line with international human rights law and standards. Recommendations  States should stringently control the manufacture and trade of all riot control agents and delivery mechanisms in their territories in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. In addition all States should ensure that RCAs and related delivery devices are not transferred to any end users who will employ them for torture, ill-treatment or other human rights violations. States should ensure that all use of RCAs and associated delivery mechanisms by law enforcement and prison officers is in accordance with regional and international human rights standards. RCA grenades, launched cartridges and any mass dissemination of RCAs (e.g. via large backpack or riot sprayers) should be prohibited in confined spaces.  States should determine which if any “wide-area” and “remote control” RCA delivery mechanisms may be justifiable for use in extreme large-scale law enforcement situations. The use of any such permissible devices must be in strict conformity with human rights standards. Any “wide-area” and “remote control” RCA delivery mechanisms deemed to be inappropriate for law enforcement should be considered to be chemical weapons; their production, possession, trade