We use various third-party cookies to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. Please use the options below to manage your cookie settings. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Please be aware, if you deny cookies, certain features of our website may not work.
This will apply to all services
Google Analytics
YouTube
Pixabay/joanbrown51>
The Relevance of the UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons
5 June 2020
Current protests in the United States (US) and elsewhere, or measures taken in the context of the COVID-19 show the relevance of the United Nations Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement.
This document – the outcome of research and broad consultations carried out under the auspices of the Geneva Academy and the University of Pretoria and its Centre for Human Rights – provides direction on what constitutes lawful and responsible design, production, transfer, procurement, testing, training, deployment, and use of less-lethal weapons and related equipment.
As recent protests in the US but also elsewhere – Hong Kong, Iraq or Chile to cite a few –demonstrate, use of force during assemblies can raise major challenges under international human rights law.
In these contexts, law enforcement officials frequently use less-lethal weapons – such as police batons, chemical irritants like pepper spray and tear gas, electroshock weapons such as TASER, and water cannon. These are defined in the Guidance as weapons whose ordinary use offers a substantially reduced risk of death when compared to conventional firearms.
In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Agnes Callamard, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, precisely refers to the UN Guidance and its relevance to the current US protests and response by the security forces.
‘This new Guidance, issued in 2019, meets an important need. It provides crucial guidance to states and law enforcement agencies, private security companies, police oversight bodies, and human rights defenders regarding the lawful use of less-lethal weapons’ underlines Professor Marco Sassòli, Director of the Geneva Academy.
Elvert Xavier Barnes Protest Photography
Philippe Leroyer
Steve Jurvetson
In an EJIL:Talk blog post, Abi Dymond and Neil Corney – two experts who participated in the Academic Working Group we’ve put in place to help the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights develop the Guidance – discuss the relevance of the UN Guidance to the measures taken in relation to the COVID-10 pandemic.
‘Their article notably shows the relevance of the UN Guidance in contexts where law enforcement agencies are tasked with enforcing lockdowns, quarantine and social distancing measures’ underlines Professor Sassòli.
Tony Webster
Elvert Barnes Photography>
In their blog post, Abi Dymond and Neil Corney also highlight that the UN Guidance has already been referred to by oversight and human rights bodies, states and other actors worldwide, including in Chile, Georgia, Hong Kong, Iraq, Jamaica and elsewhere.
‘It is very encouraging to see that this document, which is not even one-year-old, has already been referred to in so many different contexts and by different actors. This is exactly what our research aims at: to make it relevant for, known and used by those who should apply it. We expect that more and more civil society organizations but also law enforcement agencies and oversight and human rights bodies will refer to it and use it in order to ensure the appropriate use of force and accountability’ stresses Professor Sassòli.
‘This June, the UN Human Rights Council will debate its biennial resolution on peaceful protest and we hope that the UN Guidance will be equally helpful and reflected in this document and discussions around peaceful protests’ adds Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.
Elvert Barnes Photography
News
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributed to the proceedings of an international seminar on national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up (NMIRFs).
News
Adobe
Our new IHL Expert Pool began to position itself as a flexible tool that human rights mechanisms can rely on to increase their international humanitarian law (IHL) knowledge and to apply IHL in their work.
Event
Adobe
In this Human Rights Conversation, panelists will discuss the challenges that neurotechnologies raise for the enjoyment of human rights and the current work of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on this issue.
Event
This event, co-organized with Amnesty International, will discuss the gains made since the UDHR adoption, challenges to the international normative framework on human rights and what the international community needs to do for a better future.
Training
Adobe
This training course will explore the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as with their implementation and enforcement mechanisms; and provide practical insights into the different UN human rights mechanisms pertinent to advancing environmental issues and protecting environmental human rights defenders.
Training
CCPR centre
This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.
Project
CCPR Centre
The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.
Project
Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy
Publication
Geneva Academy
