36 Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement In addition to these measures, and in line with the resolution adopting the United Nations Code of Conduct, policymakers and law enforcement agencies should make sure that the police is “representative of and responsive to and accountable to” the communities they serve, ensuring staff composition is indeed truly reflective of the community, in ethnicity, religion, race, gender and other relevant factors, if needed through measures of “positive action”. In order to achieve representativeness, law enforcement agencies should actively recruit members from underrepresented groups, in order to move towards becoming an organization that more closely reflects the composition of society (see further chapter 5). Law enforcement agencies must also ensure gender mainstreaming through their policies, procedures and practices to protect against negatively effects on women within the organization or in the communities they serve. POLICE TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS IN COLOMBIA In order to meet its obligations in a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual society, the Colombian National Police have in recent years founded police training schools for different ethnic groups in Colombia and trained other members of the institution there in understanding and policing these communities. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia has documented how alumni from these schools have managed conflict to avoid using of force when relating with these communities, and enhanced communication and cooperation between them.a a OHCHR, Colombia and National Police of Colombia, Final Report: Joint Monitoring Report on the Implementation of Five Selected Human Rights Prevention and Response Mechanisms in the National Police of Colombia. 2.3. Scrutiny Law enforcement agencies should be open to public scrutiny and responsive to the public, even where members of the public may be critical of the actions or decisions of law enforcement officials. Outcomes of public assessments can contribute to reform agendas. These issues are addressed in detail in chapter 11 on Complaints and investigations. Human rights defenders The right to form and participate in NGOs and other (advocacy) groups is protected under international human rights law.95 The Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereafter “Declaration on Human Rights Defenders”), was adopted in 1998 to strengthen the protection of human rights defenders while carrying out their work within the human rights framework. Human rights defenders and civil society play an important role in a democratic society, acting as monitors and watchdogs and bringing up human rights concerns. States (and therefore law enforcement officials) do not only have a duty to refrain from threats, harassment, persecution or reprisals against human rights defenders, they also have a positive obligation to protect them. According to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, human rights defenders are sometimes depicted as “terrorists”, “enemies of the State” or “political 95  See ICCPR, article 22. See also the OSCE Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, 2014:http://www.osce.org/odihr/119633