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Ludford rallies MEPs in torture crackdown
October 9, 2001 12:00 AM
The European Parliament has endorsed a call by London Euro-MP Sarah Ludford for tougher controls on the export of equipment, such as electroshock stun belts, that can be used as instruments of torture.
The resolution, calling for a toughening of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, now specifically calls on the European Commission to establish a ban on all equipment that is "inherently cruel, inhumane or degrading", such as leg-irons, or "inherently painful", such as serrated thumb cuffs. It also calls for tough restrictions on equipment with unknown medical effects, such as high-voltage electroshock weapons, until independent inquiries had been carried out into their effects on people, as well as items that carried a "substantial risk of abuse or unwarranted injury", such as restraint chairs.
Baroness Sarah Ludford, who is the spokeswoman on justice and home affairs for Europe's Liberal MEPs, said:
"It is excellent that this call to strengthen the arms export code was passed by my fellow MEPs. It toughens the regulatory regime in which companies manufacturing and selling potential torture equipment operate. That can only be a good thing.
"When it comes to setting human rights standards, Europe must be the world leader. We must strive to be the gold standard against which all other nations are judged."
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