The organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has made public this Tuesday its concern about the decision of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States to acquire gloves capable of emitting electric shocks for the agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, for its initials in English).
According to the NGO, "ICE has perpetrated widespread acts of violence and abuse against immigrants and American citizens. This includes the illegal use of excessive and lethal force, as well as the dangerous deployment of weapons called 'less lethal' at close range."
HRW has emphasized that, in light of "the history" of this agency, its officials should not receive equipment "that has a widely documented pattern of abusive use." The purchase contract by Washington is situated in a range of between 10 and 20 million dollars (8.6 and 17.27 million euros).
The organization has insisted that "the magnitude of the potential harm of this technology in the hands of ICE," an agency that incorporates agents "with minimal training," can be "considerable." Therefore, it has demanded that the acquisition of these gloves be investigated for their "risks" and "potential for abuse," also recalling the limited oversight exercised by the U.S. Congress over this type of material.
HRW has also pointed out that the European Union maintains trade restrictions on devices that produce electric shocks, after they have been used "abusively" in various countries, even as instruments of torture and other degrading treatment.
Furthermore, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture concluded in 2023 that "direct contact electric shock weapons" are "inherently cruel, inhuman, or degrading," and called for their total prohibition at the international level.