The Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests

A/HRC/RES/50/21View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2022.

What other versions does this mandate have?

8 versions · 2012–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/56/10

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2024	A/HRC/RES/56/10	The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests	4,638	50%Compare
2022	A/HRC/RES/50/21	The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests	4,064	70%Compare
2020	A/HRC/RES/44/20	The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests	3,413	64%Compare
2018	A/HRC/RES/38/11	The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests	2,331	21%Compare
2016	A/HRC/RES/31/37	The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests	891	21%Compare

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Freedom of Association Freedom of Expression Guidelines Human Rights Law Enforcement Public Demonstrations Right of Assembly

What’s in this document?

35 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the summary report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of the panel discussion on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests, with a particular focus on achievements and contemporary challenges;²

²A/HRC/50/47.

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association on the protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests during crisis situations, submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with its resolution 44/20,³ and encourages States and all other relevant stakeholders to consider the recommendations made in the report;

³A/HRC/50/42.

Expresses deep concern regarding the instances in which peaceful protests have been met with repression, including the unlawful and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, the misuse of less-lethal weapons, the militarization of law enforcement, arbitrary arrests and detention, unfair trials, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, and enforced disappearance, as well as undue restrictions, such as Internet shutdowns, and assaults on protesters, bystanders, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and other media workers and medical personnel;

Recalls that States have the responsibility, including in the context of peaceful protests, to promote and protect human rights and to prevent human rights violations and abuses, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearances and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and calls upon States to avoid the abuse of criminal and civil proceedings, or threats of such acts, at all times;

Calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for individuals and groups to exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, of expression and of association, both online and offline, including by ensuring that domestic legislation and procedures relating to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, of expression and of association are in conformity with their international human rights obligations and commitments to clearly and explicitly establish a presumption in favour of the exercise of these rights, and that they are effectively implemented;

Also calls upon States to ensure that legislation relating to national security, public order and public health is in line with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, in order to prevent undue criminalization of or restrictions or bans on peaceful protests;

Further calls upon States to cease using rhetoric that stigmatizes protesters, and to facilitate a dialogue with them in an inclusive manner when seeking solutions for resolving a crisis and addressing its causes;

Reaffirms that emergency measures taken by Governments must be necessary, proportionate to the evaluated risk and applied in a non-discriminatory way, have a specific focus and duration, and be in accordance with the State’s obligations under applicable international human rights law;

Encourages all States to give due consideration to the compilation of practical recommendations for the proper management of assemblies based on best practices and lessons learned,⁴ which provides a useful tool for States on how to fulfil their obligations and commitments, including on how to operationalize them in their domestic laws, procedures and practices, and to promote and protect human rights in the context of assemblies, including peaceful protests;

⁴A/HRC/31/66.

Calls upon States to facilitate peaceful protests by providing protesters, to the extent possible, with access to public space within sight and sound of their intended target audience, and by protecting them, without discrimination, where necessary, against any form of threat or harassment, and underlines the role of local authorities in this regard;

Underlines the important role that communication between organizers, protesters, local authorities and officials exercising law enforcement duties can play in the proper management of assemblies, such as peaceful protests, and calls upon States to establish such appropriate channels;

Urges States to pay particular attention to the safety and protection of women and girls, as well as of women human rights defenders, in the context of peaceful protests, to develop systems to prevent and respond to acts of intimidation, harassment and violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, and to adopt protocols on gender-responsive policing of protests;

Reaffirms that States must take all appropriate measures for the safety and protection of children, including while they exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, of expression and of association, including in the context of peaceful protests, and stresses the need for additional guidance for law enforcement with regard to the participation of children in peaceful protests;

Calls upon all States to pay particular attention to the safety and protection of those observing, monitoring and recording protests, including human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and other media workers, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability, even if the protest has been declared unlawful or is dispersed;

Calls upon States to take measures before, during and after protests to protect all individuals, paying special attention to those belonging to groups that are particularly vulnerable to unlawful police use of force, while recognizing the need for specific technical and practical tools to assist law enforcement officials in promoting and protecting human rights in the context of peaceful protests;

Stresses that, in times when physical assemblies are restricted, inter alia in times of crisis or emergency, it is all the more necessary that access to and use of the Internet be ensured by refraining from undue restrictions, such as Internet shutdowns or online censorship, by taking measures to ensure that access to the Internet extends to the entirety of the global population and that it is affordable, and by fully respecting and protecting each individual’s rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information;

Calls upon all States to refrain from and cease measures that violate human rights, including practices such as the disruption of communications through Internet shutdowns, or measures that unlawfully or arbitrarily block or take down media websites or social networks, and other widespread restrictions on Internet access, the dissemination of information online or from gathering in online spaces;

Urges all States to avoid using force during peaceful protests, to ensure that, where force is absolutely necessary, no one is subject to excessive or indiscriminate use of force, and also to ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected person at the earliest possible moment;

Calls upon States, as a matter of priority, to ensure that their domestic legislation and procedures are consistent with their international obligations and commitments in relation to the use of force in the context of law enforcement and are effectively implemented by officials exercising law enforcement duties, in particular, applicable principles of law enforcement, such as necessity and proportionality, bearing in mind that lethal force may only be used as a last resort to protect against an imminent threat to life and that it may not be used merely to disperse a gathering;

Affirms that nothing can ever justify the indiscriminate use of lethal force against a crowd, which is unlawful under international human rights law;

Calls upon States to investigate any deaths or significant injuries, including those that lead to disability, incurred during protests, including those resulting from the discharge of firearms or the use of less-lethal weapons by officials exercising law enforcement duties or by private personnel acting on behalf of the State;

Also calls upon States to ensure adequate training of officials exercising law enforcement duties and, where applicable, to promote adequate training for private personnel acting on behalf of the State, including in international human rights law and, where appropriate, international humanitarian law, and in this regard urges States to include in such training the application of de-escalation and negotiation strategies;

Encourages States to make appropriate protective equipment and less-lethal weapons available to their officials exercising law enforcement duties in order to decrease their need to use weapons of any kind, while pursuing efforts to regulate and establish protocols for the training and use of less-lethal weapons, bearing in mind that even less-lethal weapons can result in a risk to life or serious injury;

Underlines the importance of thorough and independent testing of less-lethal weapons prior to procurement and deployment to establish their lethality and the extent of likely injury, of monitoring appropriate training and use of such weapons, and of promoting accountability at all stages;

Stresses the importance of international cooperation in support of national efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of assemblies, including peaceful protests, in order to raise the capacities of law enforcement agencies to deal with such assemblies in a manner that conforms to international human rights law and standards;

Underlines the necessity to address the management of assemblies, including peaceful protests, so as to contribute to their peaceful conduct, and to prevent injuries, including those that lead to disability, and loss of life of protesters, those observing, monitoring and recording such assemblies, bystanders, medical personnel and officials exercising law enforcement duties, as well as any human rights violation or abuse, to ensure accountability for such violations and abuses and to provide victims with access to a remedy and redress;

Recognizes the importance of documenting human rights violations and abuses committed in the context of peaceful protests, and of the role that can be played by national human rights institutions, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, journalists and other media workers, Internet users, human rights defenders and lawyers in this regard;

Calls upon States to refrain from the use of digital technology to silence, arbitrarily or unlawfully surveil, or harass individuals or groups solely for having organized, taken part in or observed, monitored or recorded peaceful protests, or from ordering blanket Internet shutdowns and from blocking websites and platforms including around protests or key political moments;

Urges States to refrain from the arbitrary or unlawful use of biometric identification technologies, including facial recognition, to identify those peacefully participating in an assembly;

Calls upon States to refrain, in accordance with applicable national procedures and international norms and standards, from the export, sale or transfer of surveillance goods and technologies and less-lethal weapons when they assess that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such goods, technologies or weapons might be used to violate or abuse human rights, including in the context of assemblies;

Expresses grave concern at the use of private surveillance technologies to commit widespread violations and abuses against those exercising their right to peaceful assembly, including through hacking;

Calls upon States to refrain from applying any undue restrictions to technical solutions to secure and to protect the confidentiality of digital communications, including measures for encryption, pseudonymization and anonymity online, given that these are important to ensure the enjoyment of human rights, in particular the rights to privacy, in the context of assemblies;

Urges States to ensure accountability for human rights violations and abuses through judicial or other national mechanisms, based on law and in conformity with their international human rights obligations and commitments, and to provide all victims with access to a remedy and redress, including in the context of peaceful protests;

Requests the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to engage in global and regional consultations and to develop specific technical and practical tools based on international standards and best practices to assist law enforcement officials in promoting and protecting human rights in the context of peaceful protests, and when preparing the said practical tools to seek the views of States, other relevant entities of the United Nations Secretariat, other relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders, including practitioners, such as law enforcement practitioners, and to present those technical and practical tools to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-fifth session;

Decides to continue its consideration of the present topic.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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