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	Laws on the use of force by the police require urgent global reform by Christof Heyns Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions   GENEVA (13 June 2014)   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns, stressed that laws regulating the use of force –especially lethal force- by the police are in urgent need of global reform. Mr. Heyns called on the UN and Governments around the world to launch a campaign to bring all States’ laws into line with international standards.   “I have examined the laws of 146 States, and many do not meet international standards,” the expert told the UN Human Rights Council during the presentation of his report on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officials worldwide.   The Special Rapporteur noted that, in some cases, “the discrepancies are glaring,” and stressed that “the laws in question often come from the pre-human right era, and in some cases were adopted more than one hundred years ago.”   “The police are allowed to use deadly force intentionally only when it is necessary to protect life against an immediate threat, and as a last resort,” Mr. Heyns said. “Yet in many cases laws merely require the police to give a warning before they may shoot, or instruct them to shoot at the legs.”   “This is not nearly enough,’ he underscored.   The expert’s call for a global reform of the laws on the use of force by the police is particularly relevant to the contemporary world, where people are taking to the streets in many countries to express themselves through public demonstrations, and clashes with the police ensue.   However, Mr. Heyns made clear that changing the laws will in itself not solve the problem, but it is an important component of the solution. “Many States realize they need to change their laws, and I will help to facilitate technical assistance to those States.”   The laws used for the study are accessible to the public on a website that will be kept updated: http://www.icla.up.ac.za/un/use-of-force   Drones and Autonomous weapons systems   Special Rapporteur Heyns also addressed the issue of armed drones, and proposed minimum standards to be met by States using such technology. He also encouraged the Council to remain seized of the subject of the increasing use of autonomous weapons systems, colloquially called ‘killer robots’.   “Death by algorithm threatens the enjoyment of the right to life and the right to dignity,” Mr. Heyns said. “The international community cannot ignore the fact that these technologies are not going to go away, they are certain to increase.’   In his report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions also stressed that these new weapons systems pose real and far reaching risks to human rights standards.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/executions/pages/srexecutionsindex.aspx   * Access the Special Rapporteur’s report via the link below. Visit the related web page
	90 gun deaths every day: “They talk about gun rights. What about the right to live?" by LA Times & agencies   24 May, 2014   The father of one of those who died in the shooting rampage in Isla Vista spoke out Saturday on the death of his son, Christopher Martinez.   Addressing reporters Saturday afternoon outside the Santa Barbara County Sheriff"s Department headquarters, Richard Martinez.   “I talked to him about 45 minutes before he died,” Richard Martinez said of his son. "Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don’t think it’ll happen to your child until it does.”   Christopher Martinez, 20, was among the seven people killed Friday when authorities say a gunman carried out a premeditated attack near UC Santa Barbara, shooting and running people down with his BMW.   A law enforcement source told The Times that the gunman was Elliot Rodger.   Witnesses described a horrific scene on Friday night about 9:30 p.m., when the shooting began. Many said they heard gunshots and saw a skateboarder being struck by a black BMW 328i racing at speeds of 45 mph in a densely packed, student-dominated community along the coast.   Lyssa Hopper, a 19-year-old student was at IV Deli Market in the 6500 block of Pardell Road Friday night buying some Gatorade and soda around that time. As she was purchasing the items, she heard what she said were multiple gunshots.   Then, Hopper said, she saw glass flying and dropped to the ground. When she looked up she saw a victim on the ground by the door in a pool of blood. “He was slumped over, and he was bleeding,” Hopper said.   Hopper said she knew the victim, who she identified as Martinez, a second-year student at UC Santa Barbara. She said, though tears, that Martinez had died.   At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Richard Martinez lashed out at politicians and the National Rifle Assn. for refusing to support more restrictive gun control measures.   “Chris was a really great kid,” his father said. “Ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family lost and broken.   “Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA,” Richard.   “They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’ right to live? When will this insanity stop?   "When will enough people say, Stop this madness." We do not have to live like this. Too many people have died. We should say to ourselves, "not one more."   Statement from Dan Gross, President, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.   “We at the Brady Campaign stand with Mr. Martinez. He got it exactly right. Americans are dying every day because of the corporate gun lobby and the politicians it has in its pocket.   Real solutions exist that are supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans -- solutions that would prevent many of the 90 gun deaths that happen in our nation every day. And yet, the corporate gun lobby relentlessly blocks progress toward every commonsense solution. It gives substantial sums of money to buy politicians to ignore the will and well being of the American people -- by opposing expanded background checks; and calling research into gun violence ‘unethical.’ These politicians do not care who is buying guns – convicted felons, domestic abusers, rapists – just as long as the corporate gun lobby is happily making the biggest possible profit.   It is time for the American public to know the truth about why people are dying every day and, thanks to Americans like Mr. Martinez, that truth is starting to be heard.   Tragically, it becomes more essential every day that we Americans rise up and show the courage and rage that Mr. Martinez has, and call out the corporate gun lobby and the ‘craven’ politicians who do their bidding.” We at Brady are committed to making the voice of the American public heard, and preventing every act of gun violence until we make this the safer nation we all want.   http://www.bradycampaign.org/ http://www.demandaction.org/blog/2013-03-mayors-against-illegal-guns-leads-national-day-to-de http://www.vpc.org/ http://americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gunned-down/ Visit the related web page
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