vi In 2016, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, in a joint report requested by the Council in its resolution 25/38, called upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene an expert group to examine the application of the international human rights framework to less-lethal weapons, including with a focus on their use in the context of assemblies.6 In this context, OHCHR took the opportunity to actively collaborate with the emerging academic partnership that led to the creation of an inclusive, multi-stakeholder expert group, which was also supported by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Standing Police Capacity. The present OHCHR-led Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement relied on substantive contributions from leading academics, law enforcement experts and practitioners, and representatives of international organizations and civil society, chief among which featured a member of the Human Rights Committee, the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Four expert meetings were convened in Geneva and at the University of Cambridge in 2017 and 2018 to consider and review drafts of the Guidance. The meetings brought together more than 50 experts in law enforcement, human rights, weapons law and criminal justice from States in Europe, Australasia, Latin America and Africa, and from the Caribbean to Central and South-East Asia. In addition to the expert meetings, a written stakeholder consultation was also conducted, followed by a consultation for States held in Geneva. OHCHR would like to thank all those who participated in the meetings and consultations for their input. The United Nations Guidance was formally launched in Geneva on 25 October 2019 during the 127th session of the Human Rights Committee. 6 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 (i).