Hungary,325 Kosovo,326 Malta327, Montenegro,328 Romania,329 Turkey330, the UK331 and Ukraine.332 The CPT has repeatedly stated that pepper spray (and/or CS) should not form part of the standard equipment of custodial staff and should never be used in confined spaces, nor on an individual already brought under control. 333 The citation of this language in judgments of the European Court of Human Rights lend these guidelines legally-binding force.334 Maina Kiai, former-UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has warned that tear gas is indiscriminate in nature, failing to differentiate “between demonstrators and non-demonstrators, healthy people and people with health conditions”. When individuals participating in a public gathering resort to violence, tear gas is ineffective at exclusively targeting those individuals, instead also affecting the usually peaceful majority.335 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has highlighted the “systematic and inappropriate use of tear gas” as a serious impediment to the full realisation of the freedom of assembly,336 as well as underlining “the serious health consequences of the use of tear gas”.337 Having ratified the European Convention of Human Rights, CoE member States are prohibited from using tear gas unless it is strictly necessary. This has been confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights, which has declared that “the unwarranted use of tear gas by law enforcement officers is not compatible with the prohibition of ill-treatment”.338 325 UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Hungary violating international law in response to migration crisis: Zeid, 17 September 2015. 326 Amnesty International, Amnesty International condemns excessive use of force by Kosovo police, 16 January 2012. 327 CPT, Report to the Maltese Government on the visit to Malta carried out by the CPT from 3 to 10 September 2015, 25 October 2016. 328 Amnesty International (23 February 2016) op.cit., p.226. 329 Amnesty International, Policing Demonstrations in the European Union, October 2012, p. 5. 330 CPT (15 January 2015) op.cit., paragraph 18; CPT, Report to the Turkish Government on the visit to Turkey carried out by the CPT from 16 to 23 June 2015, 17 October 2017. 331 CPT (19 April 2017) op.cit. 332 CPT (13 January 2015) op.cit.; Amnesty International, A Year after Euromaydan, Justice Delayed, Justice Denied, February 2015, p. 13. 333 See for example: CPT (6 November 2015) op.cit.; CPT (31 March 2015) op.cit.; CPT, Report to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) on the visit to Kosovo* carried out by the CPT from 15 to 22 April 2015, , 8 September 2016. 334 See, for example, European Court of Human Rights, Case of Ali Güneş v. Turkey, judgment of 10 April 2012, paragraphs 39-41. 335 Public assemblies foster engaged citizenry and are vital to democratic, economic, social and personal development. Even when protesters forfeit their right to peaceful assembly by using violence, they retain other rights including the right to bodily integrity, which includes the rights to security, to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to life; dignity; privacy; and an effective remedy for all human rights violations. For more, see UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Joint Report submitted to the Human Rights Council on the management of public assemblies, 4 February 2016, UN Doc. A/HRC/31/66. 336 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Resolution 2116 (2016), adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 27 May 2016, paragraph 5. 337 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Resolution 1947 (2013), adopted by the Assembly on 27 June 2013, paragraph 7. 338 European Court of Human Rights, Case of İzci v. Turkey, judgment of 23 July 2013, paragraph 62. 62

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