Amnesty International launched a worldwide campaign on Friday criticizing the use of tear gas by police forces across the globe.
Widely considered by the public as a non-lethal means to disperse mass riots and restore public order, the report claims that in real-world situations officers tend to use larger amounts of the gas then needed or even shoot the canisters directly at protesters, which can cause serious injuries and even death.
Police units employ tear gas in the US as one of the means to control the mass riots that erupted after a video showing the arrest of George Floyd went viral. Floyd was pinned to the ground by former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin who placed his knee on Floyd's neck. Floyd's death triggered mass riots across the world, causing many to call to end police brutality.
The report, which is now online, argues that 22 countries demonstrated improper usage of tear gas and cites 80 cases documented by protesters, all of where were verified by Amnesty International.
Israel is among the countries included in the report and it includes pictures of how IDF troops have used tear gas in the past to disperse Great March of Return protests which took place each Friday along the Gaza Strip security fence for nearly two years.
Chinese company Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd, which also makes the IDF drones used to fire tear gas at Palestinian protesters during the Great March of Return, was among the companies Amnesty International reached for a response, they declined to answer.
Since 1997, tear gas has been regarded as a chemical weapon and its usage in armed conflicts was banned, USA Today reported in June.