Other Crowd Control 7.1 ACOUSTIC HAILING DEVICES Acoustic hailing devices are also known as ‘sound cannons’, ‘hail and warn devices’, and ‘loud hailers’. Key Technical Features Acoustic hailing devices are loudspeakers or megaphones that can be used to either convey voice instructions over a large area, or emit a loud, high frequency ‘deterrent tone’, which is designed to disperse a crowd. Acoustic hailing devices can be free-standing, vehicle-mounted, embedded in a riot control shield, or body-worn (i.e. over the shoulder or strapped to the chest). Certain acoustic devices are designed to target only young people. These emit a high frequency sound, which is irritating and often painful to most people under 20, but that is barely audible to older people. Human Rights Concerns Statements and Standards from Human Rights Bodies Examples of Existing Controls Acoustic devices are indiscriminate, as they cannot be used to target an individual without affecting others nearby. Use of these weapons carries a risk of permanent hearing damage, ear drum rupture, and loss of equilibrium or balance. Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly: the use of acoustic hailers that target young people violates human rights, including the prohibition of discrimination, the prohibition of torture or other illtreatment, and, depending on the circumstances, also violates the right of the child to freedom of peaceful assembly. 119 OCHCR: “the indiscriminate use…against a crowd, or against targeted individuals at a range where the decibel output is likely to cause permanent hearing damage, would be unlawful.” 120 Some national export control regimes include these weapons on their list of equipment that requires an export licence. Manufacture should be controlled. Proposed Control Trade and transfer should be controlled. Use should conform with international human rights standards. 119 Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly, “Prohibiting the marketing and use of the “Mosquito” youth dispersal device”, Recommendation 1930 (2010) Final version, adopted on 25 June 2010, paras. 9-12. 120 OHCHR, UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement, 2020, para. 7.8.5. 117