BRUSSELS (AP) — People who hate teenagers might consider them a dream come true: Buzzers that adults cannot here yet drive disperse loitering youngsters from public places faster than a cop in a squad car.
But European governments were asked Wednesday to ban them.
A parliamentary panel of the Council of Europe said the so-called Mosquito buzzers treat young people "as if they were unwanted birds or pests."
It said exposure to their signal — audible to most people under 20 but hardly anyone over 25 — amounts to degrading treatment banned by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The culture, science and education committee of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly said Mosquito buzzers violate the "right to respect for one's private life" and violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"Children and other vulnerable persons have the right to be protected from serious attacks against their physical and psychical integrity," it said in a report.
The device emits a pulsating signal that is irritating, if not painful, to minors and drives them from shopping centers or street corners.
They are typically installed by public administrations and shops but also schools and private residents, said the panel.
It did not speak of a health risk but said "further medical tests are required" especially on the impact of high-frequency noise on unborn children."
The panel said Mosquito-type devices are used in public and private places across Europe, notably in Britain, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. It estimates there are 5,000 in Britain alone. There are no legal bans now in Europe.
Based in Strasbourg, France, the 47-member Council of Europe is the continent's premier human rights watchdog.
It is a separate organization from the European Union which considered a Mosquito buzzer ban in 2008, but left the issue for national governments to decide.
