“My eye has exploded” is the shocking title of a report published by Amnesty International in which it denounces the abusive and “increasingly widespread” use of riot control weapons, such as kinetic impact projectiles, mainly rubber and plastic bullets, by law enforcement around the world.
The NGO, along with 30 other organizations, calls for an international treaty against the trade in what it calls “instruments of torture.”
“We believe that a legally binding global framework for the manufacture and trade of these less-lethal weapons, including kinetic impact projectiles, is urgently needed,” said Patrick Wilcken, Military, Security and Police Researcher at Amnesty International.
The report is the result of five years of research in more than 30 countries. It reveals that thousands of protesters and bystanders have been maimed and dozens have lost their lives as a result of the often indiscriminate and disproportionate use of these police weapons.
In France, for example, the report cites almost 2,500 protesters injured at the height of the Yellow Vest protests between November 2018 and May 2019.
In Chile, 440 eye injuries have been registered since the protests began in October 2019. “The real figures are probably much higher,” Amnesty International stresses.
