16 Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement 1.5. The obligations in practice: guiding principles for use of force in law enforcement Based on the above international standards, any use of force by law enforcement should be in accordance with the following principles: legality, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination, precaution, and accountability.45 Legality Principle 1 of the Basic Principles requires governments and law enforcement agencies to “adopt and implement rules and regulations on the use of force and firearms against persons by law enforcement officials”.46 To prevent abuse, domestic law needs to define when law enforcement officials may use force and for what purpose. In order to safeguard against arbitrary interpretation and abuse, the provisions must be clear and unambiguous, so that they are foreseeable both to those applying them and to those that will be affected by their application, i.e. both to law enforcement officials and the public. Captured within the principle of legality is the objective of using force. Only when it is used with the aim of achieving a lawful law enforcement objective, can the use of force be justified. Therefore, any use of force that occurs for another purpose, such as for personal gain or as a punishment, would not be compliant with the principle of legality. To safeguard against abuse, domestic law must define lawful law enforcement objectives in a sufficiently clear manner. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions issued a report in April 2014 on domestic legislation and the use of force. Legislation of 146 countries was considered and examples of good practice for regulating the use of force were discussed in this report, which is available at: www.use-of-force.info.47 Necessity The second principle is that of necessity as captured in article 3 of the United Nations Code of Conduct: “Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary [and to the extent required] for the performance of their duty.” This is reiterated in principle 4 of the Basic Principles: “Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means are deemed ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result”. In other words, law enforcement officials should only use force when it is absolutely necessary to achieve a lawful and legitimate policing objective. Moreover, the type and level of force used should also be able to achieve the law enforcement objective pursued. Thus, before resorting to force, law enforcement officials should always ask themselves: is it possible to achieve the same goal without using force? For example, is it possible to ask someone to cooperate, rather than coerce? Is it possible to negotiate or mediate? If possible, such non-violent alternatives should be attempted and exhausted before resorting to force. Moreover, law enforcement officials should only resort to a certain forcible measure if that measure can alleviate the threat posed. 45  See Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (A/HRC/26/36), 1 April 2014. 46  See Basic Principles, principle 1 Guidelines for the Effective Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, article I.A.1.; Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 6, article 6, para. 3. 47  Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, A/HRC/26/36, 1 April 2014.