136 Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement 9.2 Arrest Introduction The Human Rights Committee defines arrest as “any apprehension of a person that commences a deprivation of liberty”.301 Arrests should at all times comply with the following fundamental principles: • Legality: arrests must have a sufficient legal basis and may only be used to achieve a legitimate law enforcement objective • Necessity: arrests should only be made when strictly necessary • Proportionality • Respect for human dignity: law enforcement officials should ensure that arrests are carried out with respect of the inherent dignity of the person, which applies to both the way in which an arrest is carried out, and to the conditions in which a person is kept after arrest • Non-discrimination: the arrest should not be affected by the race, ethnicity, religion, gender or other characteristics of the person In addition, international law unequivocally prohibits arbitrary arrests.302 Arresting a person may be a very physical situation, with the law enforcement officials literally laying their hands on the suspect. For this reason, the arrest of a woman or girl should whenever possible be conducted by a female law enforcement official.303 Being arrested can be a stressful and unpleasant situation for the suspect, and may cause feelings of anger, loss of control, aggression and possibly also embarrassment and shame. When carrying out an arrest, law enforcement officials often resort to using force to restrain individuals. As with any use of force by law enforcement officials, the use of force in the context of an arrest should be absolutely necessary, and proportional to the law enforcement objective and the resistance encountered. Firearms should only be used to protect against “imminent threat of death or serious injury or to arrest someone presenting such a danger and resisting their authority” (principle 9, BPUFF). This means that a person resisting or fleeing from arrest must present a danger to the lives of other persons. Resisting without presenting such danger to the life of someone else cannot be sufficient justification for the use of firearms. The analysis must be made on a caseby-case basis and should not be based on general assumptions. It should be remembered at all times that any suspect is presumed to be innocent, and establishing guilt is the prerogative of a competent, lawfully established tribunal. Furthermore, the gravity of the suspected criminal offence may not always constitute a reliable indicator of whether the person is indeed dangerous. 301  Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 35, para. 13. Please note that other instruments have different definitions of arrest, for example the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment defines arrest as “the act of apprehending a person for the alleged commission of an offence or by the action of an authority”. See GA/RES/43/173,9 December 1988. 302  For more information, see OHCHR, Human Rights and Law Enforcement, A Manual on Human Rights Training for Law Enforcement Officials, 2017, chapter 6 (Human Rights and Arrest), as well as OHCHR, Human Rights in the Administration of Justice – A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers, 2003, chapter 5 (Human Rights and Arrest, Pre-trial Detention and Administrative Detention). 303  Osse, Anneke, Understanding Policing: a Resource for Human Rights Activists, Amnesty International, the Netherlands, 2006.