PART IV.  POLICING SITUATIONS PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STATES REGARDING THE PROPER MANAGEMENT OF ASSEMBLIES In March 2016, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions presented a joint report on the proper management of assemblies. The report included a compilation of practical recommendations, aimed at providing guidance on how applicable international human rights standards may be operationalized in domestic law and practice to ensure greater protection of the rights involved. The report was based on wide consultations with Member States, civil society, national human rights institutions, regional human rights mechanisms, and policing and other experts.a The recommendations are organized around 10 overarching principles, and principle 5 relates to the use of force in the context of assemblies: “Force shall not be used unless it is strictly unavoidable, and if applied it must be done in accordance with international human rights law” The Special Rapporteurs made the following recommendations regarding this principle:b States should ensure that law enforcement officials have the equipment, training and instructions necessary to police assemblies wherever possible without recourse to any use of force: • Tactics in the policing of assemblies should emphasize de-escalation tactics based on communication, negotiation and engagement. Training of law enforcement officials should include pre- and in-service instruction in both classroom and scenario-based settings. • Before the selection and procurement of equipment, including for less-lethal weapons, by law enforcement agencies for use in assemblies, States should subject such equipment to a transparent and independent assessment to determine compliance with international human rights law and standards. In particular, equipment should be assessed for accuracy, reliability and its ability to minimize physical and psychological harm. Equipment should be procured only where there is sufficient capacity to train officers effectively on its proper use. • Specific regulations and detailed operational guidance should be developed and publicly disseminated on the use of tactical options in assemblies, including weapons, which, by design, tend to be indiscriminate, such as tear gas and water cannons. Training must encompass the lawful and appropriate use of less-lethal equipment in crowds. Law enforcement officials should also be properly trained on protective equipment and clearly instructed that such equipment should be used exclusively as defensive tools. States should monitor the effectiveness of the training in the prevention of abuse or misuse of weapons and tactics. • Automatic firearms should not be used in the policing of assemblies under any circumstances. • Autonomous weapons systems that require no meaningful human control should be prohibited, and remotely controlled force should only ever be used with the greatest caution. • States should develop comprehensive guidelines on the dispersal of assemblies in accordance with international human rights law and principles. Such guidelines should be made public and provide practical guidance to law enforcement officials detailing the circumstances that warrant dispersal, all steps required to be taken before a decision to disperse (including de-escalation measures), and who may issue a dispersal order. • Effective systems for monitoring and reporting on the use of force must be established by the State, and relevant information, including statistics on when and against whom force is used, must be easily accessible to the public. a 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, para. 67. b Idem. 123