PART IV.  POLICING SITUATIONS When containment is used on an exceptional basis, strict mitigation measures should be taken, including: • The decision to deploy containment tactics should be communicated to the protesters and they must know the purpose and reason for it. Continuous sharing of information about the process is recommended. • When implementing and maintaining containment, the police should, where possible, differentiate between non-violent persons, including peaceful protesters, innocent bystanders, vulnerable persons, media and violent protesters. This implies a thorough assessment of the particular vulnerabilities of individuals and ensuring the extraction of those in distress. • Production of a Press Card should in principle allow the holder release from any area subject to containment, unless their behaviour justifies their containment. • Those identified as non-violent should be released as soon as it is safe to do so. • The welfare of those who are subjected to the tactic must be considered (e.g. access to toilets, water—and in situations of prolonged containment—food and shelter). • A dispersal plan for after the containment comes to an end must be in place. • The strategic objectives and operational decision logs should reflect the considerations listed above. It is a tactical decision whether it is better to disperse or contain, but before dispersing or containing, emphasis should always be on de-escalating tension. Law enforcement officials should be adequately trained before deploying any of these tactics, and be adequately resourced and equipped, including with protective gear and less-lethal technologies.269 When violent protests evolve into tensions and disturbances When isolated incidents of violent protests become related, and viewed together, they may constitute a more or less consistent pattern referred to as “internal disturbances or tensions”.270 Such situations pose great challenges to the authorities in terms of maintaining public safety and law and order and can eventually lead to situations that threaten the life of the nation and lead the State to proclaim a state of emergency. It is of great importance that these situations are handled well by the law enforcement agencies. The ICRC advises the following: “The law enforcement action taken in such situations can have far-reaching consequences. Lawful, non-arbitrary and precisely targeted forms of action directed at initiators and perpetrators of disturbances and tensions can lead to a reassertion of control and defuse a situation. Random action, as well as unlawful, arbitrary and discriminatory, can erode confidence in law enforcement, further endanger public safety and be at least partly responsible for the further escalation of a situation”.271 What should be remembered is that the basic principles of legality, necessity and proportionality continue to apply. Professional conflict management is based on good preparations, even in tense situations. Ibid., paras. 56-58. See Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, article 1, Paragraph 2; examples of “riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence and other acts of a similar nature”. 271  See ICRC, 2011, pp. 20-21. 269  270  121