Human Degradation Technologies and International Law

The use of human degradation technology as a non-lethal means of violence has been prevalent from the early periods of human history. While non-lethal in design purpose, human degradation technologies have deleterious effects on the sensory-motor function of the human body, with a potentially lethal result depending on pre-existing medical conditions or other factors such as age and gender. In the absence of any comprehensive treaty prohibiting or restricting the use of human degradation technologies in peacetime or in armed conflict, the regulation in this area remains sparse. This Chapter reviews three different legal regimes that apply to the use of human degradation technology as a non-lethal means of violence - the law of weapons governing specific classes of weapons, the law of targeting applicable both in international and non-international armed conflict, and human rights law applicable to law enforcement operations. The review identifies inconsistent approaches regarding the threshold question of the applicability of each body of law - owing to the unique character of the technologies’ intended use, design purpose or harmful effects - which, together with the varying degrees of uncertainty associated with the lethal effect of these weapons, present an inherent limit to the regulation of human degradation technology as a means of violence.