Weapons with “reduced lethality” are in the sights of Amnesty International. The NGO again warns of the dangerousness of these, used in the context of maintaining order, through a campaign launched on Tuesday in France denouncing mainly the use of LBD 40 and tear gas canisters and disencirclement.
“Today, everything costs an arm, except protesting, which also costs an eye,” reads one of the campaign visuals. “The procession will leave at 2 p.m. and will become funeral at 4 p.m.,” reads another.
LBD shootings at the heart of several investigations
First broadcast on social networks, then on urban posters from August 28 in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and Nantes, the campaign “aims to alert to the urgency of regulating the trade and use of weapons with reduced lethality which have, in France alone, seriously mutilated dozens of people and led to several deaths, ”says Amnesty.
The NGO has been asking for several years for the suspension of the use of LBD 40 (defence ball launchers) pending an investigation into their use. Recently, three Raid police officers were indicted, suspected of shooting LBD on Mohamed Bendriss, 27, who died on the night of July 1 to 2 in Marseille during the riots following the death of Nahel. In this context, the LBDs were also at the origin of several blind spots.
Amnesty also recalls its desire to ban the use of tear gas and de-encirclement grenades, which it considers “particularly dangerous” in view of the mutilations (deafening, burns, torn hands, etc.) observed on demonstrators. “We must make an impression because we have reached a point where we cannot remain without reaction”, comments Jean-Claude Samouiller, president of Amnesty France. At the same time, the organization is collecting signatures as part of a dedicated global petition, which will be submitted during the resolution discussed at the United Nations General Assembly in the spring of 2024 and which aims to regulate these weapons.
Amnesty denounces an “abusive and non-compliant with international law” use
In March, Amnesty denounced their use “widespread, abusive and not in conformity with international law” during the operations of maintenance of order, over the last five years and in more than 30 countries, in its report entitled My eye exploded. It notes that between 1990 and 2017, 1,984 people worldwide were injured by a kinetic impact projectile, 53 died and 300 are now permanently disabled.