8 of law enforcement officials to “respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons” and states that “law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty”. 5 At the same time, the UN “Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials” require that “governments and law enforcement agencies develop a range of means as broad as possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of force and firearms.”6 If law enforcement officials are only equipped with a limited choice of weapons (e.g., a baton and a firearm), the risks to themselves and the public may be heightened.7 The right to freedom of peaceful assembly does not only include the right to organize and participate in assemblies, but also to monitor them, and states have an obligation to protect the rights of assembly monitors, which includes respecting and facilitating the right to observe and monitor all aspects of an assembly, including the work of law enforcement officials.8 This Guide on Law Enforcement Equipment Most Commonly Used in the Policing of Assemblies has been developed jointly by ODIHR and Omega as a complementary tool to the revised ODIHR Handbook on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly.9 Its purpose is to provide information on various tactics and equipment law enforcement officials use for policing different types of assemblies. This should enable monitors to better recognize the policing tools, produce higher quality monitoring reports and assist law enforcement in changing policies and practices of improper use of equipment. This, in turn, will increase the accountability of law enforcement officers, as well as public trust towards law enforcement agencies in general. The primary audience for the Guide are independent assembly monitors in OSCE participating States, including OSCE field operations, representatives of civil society organizations and NHRIs, as well as other human rights monitors working to contribute to human rights-compliant policing and increased accountability by law enforcement officials. 5 6 7 8 9 UN, “Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials”, op. cit., note 3, Article 2. UN, “Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials”, op. cit., note 4, Provision 2. UN, UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement (New York and Geneva: UN, 2020), Point 1.1., <https://w w w.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CCPR/LLW_Guidance.pdf> UN, “Joint Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association and the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions on the Proper Management of Assemblies”, A/HRC/31/66, 2016, para. 70. Handbook on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly (Warsaw: ODIHR, 2020, 2nd ed.).