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Unfortunately, the 'Real Audio' part of the Tour is unavailable. You can still view the pages with quotes but without the audio files. However, you can hear a 'Real Audio' overview of the 'USA Rights for All' campaign by clicking here.


A lot of money is being made out of suffering and death. There is a growing global trade in weapons and equipment like the electro-shock baton. International marketing and procurement networks are providing such technology to clients who often end up using them to torture and degrade.


Electro-shock stun batons are made and then sold world-wide to the public and to law enforcement agencies in the USA,Germany, China, Taiwan, France, Israel and South Africa. Suppliers have also been found in Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Iran, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain and the UK.


When Amnesty talks about Military, Security and Police Transfers - that is MSP - we mean the supply or trade of weapons, equipment, personnel, or relevant trainning by governments or companies.
MSP transfers to governments and non-governmental entities, reasonably assumed to contribute to human rights violations, should be stopped.


In 1998, a US company with an Israeli partner was reported to be supplying electro-shock shields to Turkey, a country with a long history of electro-shock torture.


In recent years new electro-shock products have been developed. Taser guns were invented in California. They shoot fish hook darts into a victim which on impact inflict a 40-50,000 volt shock. Several deaths in the US following the taser shootings have prompted some US States to ban their use. The US government, however, approved tasers for export to Saudi Arabia.


Two US companies market this type of remote controlled stun-belt. It is worn around a prisoner's waist so that shocks can be inflicted by a prison guard from a distance of 300 metres or more causing extreme pain and instant incapacitation. Amnesty International regards this device as inherently cruel, inhumane and degrading. Such belts have found their way into South African prisons.


Amnesty International has opposed shackles when used for torture or cruelty. As a result the UK government has banned them for use and export. They are now no longer used in Western Europe. However modern versions are still used for transporting prisoners in the USA.


This US-made Pelco CCTV camera was photographed in Tiananmen Square, in 1992. Surveillance gathered by the cameras led to the arrest and subsequent torture of alleged organisers and activists of the pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989.


Amnesty International was successful in persuading the US government to stop armoured vehicles from being sent to Indonesia because of persistent misuse against civilian demonstrators.


Questionable MSP transfers may include policing vehicles such as these supplied by Britain, France and the USA. They have been exported to Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Nigeria.


This type of US military personnel carrier has been exported to many countries, including Turkey. Amnesty has found that such vehicles have been used by Turkish police to reach remote Kurdish villages where people were abducted, beaten and "disappeared".


This US military general-purpose helicopter has been exported to many countries including El Salvador, Indonesia, Burma, Philippines and Thailand. Amnesty International has questioned the use of transport helicopters in Turkey and Indonesia to commit human rights violations in remote areas.


All governments should work to establish global and regional agreements for the regulation of all military, security and police transfers in order to promote respect for human rights. Amnesty International and other Nobel Peace Laureates have launched an International Code to encourage such initiatives.


AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS RECOMMENDING SPECIFIC REFORMS TO CORRECT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AMNESTY ALSO CALLS ON CONCERNED PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO SPEAK OUT AND TO TAKE ACTION.


Bill Schulz:
"Well, we hope that Americans will begin to understand that in order to be good world citizens, we have to make sure that our practices in this country reflect not only our own national values, but international standards for human rights as well."


Pierre Sané:
"1998, which is the 50th Anniversary of the UDHR represents an opportunity for the US government to take stock and commit itself to insure that not just a few, but all in the United States will be enjoying their human rights."


MUSIC
"Get Up, Stand Up."


FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND READ THE FULL REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.


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