US congressional representatives announced legislation… calling for a ban on sales of riot control equipment to Hong Kong law enforcement services…

If passed, the bill would prohibit US companies from exporting so-called non-lethal crowd control items like tear gas, as well as defence articles and services, to Hong Kong, where the local police force is facing growing criticism of its response to protests…

Titled the PROTECT Hong Kong Act… [the] bill is sponsored by Representatives James McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, Christopher Smith, Republican of New Jersey, and Ro Khanna, Democrat of California… As well as barring defence-related sales to Hong Kong, the new law would also require the Secretary of State to issue a report to Congress detailing all the defence articles and munition items that had been exported to the city over the five years leading up to the bill’s date of enactment…

“America ought to recognise the human rights and dignity of all people,” said McGovern, who co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission alongside Smith. “And that means we ought not to allow American companies to sell this equipment to foreign governments when we see evidence that it is being used for immoral and unjust purposes.”

… the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said it had reviewed credible evidence that law enforcement officials in Hong Kong had employed non-lethal weapons “in ways that are prohibited by international norms and standards”… [Also referred to Nonlethal Technologies]