The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs have formally requested an official response from the Republic of Serbia regarding allegations of the use of sonic weapons to violently disrupt a peaceful gathering in Belgrade on March 15.
As reported by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteurs have published their official communication sent to the Government of Serbia. They emphasized that the information received about the events of March 15, at 19:11, raises serious concerns about Serbia’s full implementation of its obligations to respect and protect fundamental human rights under international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention against Torture. This includes a failure to protect protesters.
The UN Special Rapporteurs expressed grave concern over increasing restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly, specifically highlighting the alleged use of an illegal sonic device. This alleged use has led to numerous claims of injuries and health problems caused by these weapons.
It was also noted that Serbia has a duty to regulate and monitor the production, procurement, and use of equipment by police and law enforcement agencies. The Rapporteurs stressed that special caution is needed with experimental weapons, including sound devices, as their nature is not sufficiently understood, and their medical and other effects have not been adequately investigated.
“These weapons and devices pose a risk of temporary or permanent hearing damage depending on the design, distance and duration of exposure. They can be misused indiscriminately against a crowd of people or used to cause injury. Their effects, which are based on sensory disorientation and whose effects are general rather than targeted, can cause dangerous stampedes and chaotic behaviour affecting both protesters and bystanders,” the UN Special Rapporteurs stated in their letter to the Serbian government, according to the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights. “While we cannot confirm that such weapons were used in this specific case, the evidence we have received suggests that their use caused mass panic, contrary to the precautionary principle.“
The NGO further added that if such weapons were used to disperse peacefully assembled people, it constitutes an unlawful dispersal of a peaceful protest. The alleged use of such weapons at a time when rally participants were silently paying respects to those killed in the collapse of the Novi Sad train station shelter was deemed “particularly disproportionate and cruel.”
The six UN Special Rapporteurs have requested detailed information and comments from the State of Serbia on several points, including:
- Steps taken to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent, and effective investigation into the alleged use of sound/acoustic weapons to illegally disperse the peaceful assembly on March 15.
- The legal basis for such weapons, prior authorizations, chain of command, and justification for their use.
- The possession of less lethal weapons acquired or produced by Serbia, including acoustic or other sound wave-based weapons.
- Information on the number and types of injuries resulting from the use of the alleged device.
