EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2021

COM(2021) 632 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on export authorisation in 2020 pursuant to the Regulation concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

1.Introduction

The objective of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment( 1 ) is to prevent, in countries outside the EU, capital punishment, on the one hand, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on the other. It distinguishes between:

-goods that are inherently abusive and should not be traded at all (Annex II); and

-goods that can have legitimate uses, such as law enforcement equipment (Annex III) and goods for therapeutic use (Annex IV).

Trade in goods listed in Annex III and IV is subject to certain restrictions.

Article 26(3) of the Regulation states that the Member States must draw up a public, annual activity report. The report must provide information on the number of applications received, the goods and countries concerned, and the decisions taken on the applications. Article 26(4) states that the Commission must draw up an annual report comprised of the annual activity reports published by the Member States. It must make the report publicly available.

This Commission report provides information on Member States’ authorisation activities concerning exports of goods in 2020( 2 ) that could be used for torture or for capital punishment.

All Member States have reported on the number of export authorisations granted and refused under Articles 11(1) and 16(1) and on the goods and countries of destination in question. In some cases, the competent authorities in the Member States have also reported on the numbers or quantities of goods authorised for export and the category of end-user to whom the goods were supplied.

2.Authorisations granted and refused

In 2020, the total number of reported authorisations amounted to 247, with 11 Member States reporting that they had granted authorisations. The remaining Member States informed the Commission that they had not received any applications for authorisations pursuant to the Regulation.

As the definitions of ‘individual authorisation’ and ‘global authorisation’ in Article 2 of the Regulation do not include a quantitative component, an indication of the number of authorisations granted does not give an indication of the number or quantity of goods concerned by these authorisations. Nor does the information that Member States provide to the Commission typically distinguish between individual authorisations and global authorisations.

The Regulation requires the competent authorities to check if an export authorisation has indications that, if exported, the goods in question might be used for torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Annex III) or for capital punishment (Annex IV). This is why Article 20(8) of the Regulation states that the competent authority should ‘receive complete information in particular on the end‑user, the country of destination and the end-use of the goods’.

Member States reported that they had denied 23 applications for an export authorisation in 2020. The reported cases of denial concerned certain intended transactions with customers in Algeria, Andorra, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Iraq, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. The unauthorised transactions primarily concerned goods listed in Annex III code 3.1( 5 ). Some concerned goods listed in Annex III codes 1.1( 6 ) (Saudi Arabia), 2.1( 7 ) (Algeria), 3.4( 8 ) (Hong Kong, Thailand) and 3.6( 9 ) (Iraq). The intended export to Malaysia concerned goods listed in Annex IV code 1.1(d) (pentobarbital sodium salt). Another intended export to Hong Kong concerned goods listed in Annex IV code 1.1 (Other short and intermediate acting barbiturate anaesthetic agents).

Articles 3, 4 and 5 of the Regulation prohibit the export, import and transit, respectively, of the goods listed in Annex II. The Regulation allows the competent national authorities to grant a derogation from the prohibition, but only if it is demonstrated that the goods concerned will be used exclusively for public display in a museum (either in a non-EU country or, in accordance with Article 4, in a Member State) in view of their historical significance. The competent authorities reported that they had not granted such derogations in 2020.

Annex 1 to this report provides information on the number of export authorisations granted by the national competent authorities in 2020, by category of goods (Annexes III and IV to the Regulation). Exports under the Union General Export Authorisation (Annex V) are not included in the information on the number of authorisations granted.

Annex 2 provides information on the number of reported export authorisations and denials by category of goods (Annexes III and IV).

Annex 3 provides information on the number of applications authorised and denied over the period 2017-2020.

Annex 4 provides information on the number of reported export authorisations issued by Member States.

Annex 5 provides information on the main reported destinations of authorised exports.

Annex 6 summarises the information provided to the Commission on the reported end-use of authorised exports in 2020.

Annexes 7 and 8 provide an overview of the goods authorised for export, their destinations and their reported end-use.

(1)

()    OJ L 30, 31.1.2019, p. 1.

(2)

()    This report does not provide information on exporters’ use of the Union General Export Authorisation, pursuant to Annex V to the Regulation, for exports of goods listed in Annex IV.

(3)

()    Article 2(d) of the Regulation defines ‘export’ as ‘any departure of goods from the customs territory of the Union, including the departure of goods that requires a customs declaration and the departure of goods after their storage in a free zone within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council’.

(4)

()    Article 2(p) fully defines ‘individual authorisation’. Article 2(q) fully defines ‘global authorisation’.

(5)

()    Goods listed in Annex III under code 3.1: portable weapons and equipment for the administration or dissemination of a dose of an incapacitating or irritating chemical substance.

(6)

()    Goods listed in Annex III under code 1.1: Shackles and gang chains (except ordinary handcuffs).

(7)

()    Goods listed in Annex III under code 2.1: Electric shock batons.

(8)

()    Goods listed in Annex III under code 3.4: Mixtures containing at least 0.3% of PAVA by weight or OC and a solvent (pepper spray).

(9)

()    Goods listed in Annex III under code 3.6: fixed or mountable equipment for the dissemination of incapacitating or irritating agents over a wide area.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2021

COM(2021) 632 final

ANNEXES

to the

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on export authorisation in 2020 pursuant to the Regulation concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degradng treatment or punishment

Annex 1:

Number of reported export authorisations issued by Member States pursuant to Article 20(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 by Annex entry

Annex 2:

Number of reported export authorisations by Annex entry

Annex 3:

Number of reported export authorisations issued by Member States over the period 2017– 2020

Annex 4:

N° of reported export authorizations issued by Member States

Annex 5:

Reported destinations( 1 ) of authorised exports in 2020( 2 )

Annex 6:

Reported end-use of authorised exports to third countries in 2020( 3 )

Annex 7:

Overview of reported authorised exports of Annex III goods in 2020

Annex 8:

Overview of reported authorised exports of Annex IV goods in 2020

(1)

() If a particular name is used in the list of destinations, it should not be construed as going beyond referring to a (customs) territory commonly known by that name.

(2)

() ‘Other destinations’ include those to which only one export authorisation was reported, namely: Aruba, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Uganda and Uruguay. ‘Multi-country destinations’ refer to those authorisations issued once for one same item exported to more than one country.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

(3)

() The number of export authorisations does not match the number referred to in the previous Annexes, as not all authorities in the Member States stipulate the end-use.