Omega Research Foundation Cristian Andrés Pulido’s camera after being hit by a chemical irritant projectile while he documented ESMAD’s actions during a student protest (Photo: Semanario VOZ. Used with permission) Maina Kiai, 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’.69 The effect of tear gas varies from person to person. It can be life threatening for certain vulnerable groups, e.g. elderly people, children, pregnant women or people with respiratory problems. Launched projectiles containing chemical irritants can, if they hit a person directly, cause penetration wounds, concussion, other head injuries as well as, in some instances, death. Recommendations    Grenades and wide area use of chemical irritants should only be employed when the level of violence has reached such a degree that law enforcement officials cannot contain the threat by directly targeting violent persons only. Furthermore, chemical irritants should only be used for the amount of time strictly necessary to reduce the level of violence. Prohibit the direct firing of any projectile or grenade against a person. Have medical personnel on hand to provide assistance to those affected by chemical irritants. Live ammunition Although the focus of this report is ‘less lethal’ law enforcement equipment, it is necessary to mention the use of live ammunition by law enforcement in public gatherings. This is particularly relevant in light of the trend to assign the military to policing duties in several countries in the region. Military personnel and military police have used high-powered firearms with live ammunition against protesters on multiple occasions in South America. Human rights organisations have reported on the use of metal pellets (also called ‘buckshot’ or ‘birdshot’, which are often marketed as less- or non-lethal ammunition) and/or other types of lethal ammunition against people participating in public protests in several countries in the region, including Argentina, Colombia,70 Peru and Venezuela. Metal pellets are designed to spread over a wide area 69 UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Report submitted to the Human Rights Council, 21 May 2012, UN Doc. A/HRC/20/27, para. 35. 70 Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in Colombia, ‘Oficina de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos espera que se llegue a acuerdos que garanticen los derechos humanos de la población del Catatumbo,’ 10/07/2013, 20