4 2. GENERAL PRINCIPLES ON THE USE OF FORCE 2.1 Law enforcement officials shall at all times respect and protect fundamental human rights and freedoms, in particular when they are considering the use of force of any kind. The rights of law enforcement officials to life and to security shall also be respected and ensured.14 2.2 In carrying out their duties, law enforcement officials shall, as far as possible, make use of non-violent means before resorting to the use of force or firearms. They may use force only if other means appear ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.15 Where necessary, law enforcement officials shall be equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment,16 such as helmets, shields, stab-resistant gloves and vests and bullet-resistant vests. Such appropriate personal protective equipment may decrease the need for law enforcement officials to use weapons of any kind.17 2.3 Any use of force by law enforcement officials shall comply with the principles of legality, precaution, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination and accountability. LEGALITY 2.4 The use of force shall be regulated by domestic law and administrative regulations in accordance with international law. The use of force can be justified only when it is used with the aim of achieving a legitimate law enforcement objective.18 National policies that comply with international law United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)/Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement, United Nations, New York, 2017, p. 15. 15 Basic Principles, principle 4. 16 Basic Principles, principle 2. 17 Human Rights Council resolution 38/11, adopted without a vote on 6 July 2018, para. 15. 18 Basic Principles, Principle 1; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, General Comment No. 3 on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Right to Life (Article 4), adopted in November 2015, para.  27; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Cruz Sánchez and others v. Peru, Judgment, 17 April 2015, para. 261; European Court of Human Rights, Nachova and others v. Bulgaria, Judgment, 6 July 2005, paras. 99-100. 14