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

A/HRC/RES/22/10No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2013.

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

2024A/HRC/RES/56/10The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protestsLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/50/21The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protestsCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/44/20The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protestsCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/38/11The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protestsCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/31/37The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protestsCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Conferences Human Rights Human Rights Violations Law Enforcement Public Demonstrations Report Preparation Right of Assembly

What does this mandate say?

20 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the thematic report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on effective measures and best practices to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 19/35;

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, in particular 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, including by ensuring that their 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;

Urges States to facilitate peaceful protests by providing protestors with access to public space and protecting them, where necessary, against any forms of threats, and underlines the role of local authorities in this regard;

Underlines the role that communication between protestors, local authorities and police can play in the proper management of assemblies, such as peaceful protests;

Urges States to pay particular attention to the safety and protection of women and women human rights defenders from gender-based violence, including sexual assault in the context of peaceful protests;

Calls upon all States to avoid using force during peaceful protests, and to ensure that, where force is absolutely necessary, no one is subject to excessive or indiscriminate use of force;

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 by law enforcement officials, in particular applicable principles of law enforcement, such as the principles of necessity and proportionality, bearing in mind that lethal force may only be used to protect against an imminent threat to life and that it may not be used merely to disperse a gathering;

Also calls upon States to investigate any death or injury committed during protests, including those resulting from the discharge of firearms or the use of non-lethal weapons by law enforcement officials;

Further calls upon States and, where applicable, the relevant governmental authorities to ensure adequate training of law enforcement officials and military personnel and to promote adequate training for private personnel acting on behalf of a State, including in international human rights law and, where appropriate, international humanitarian law;

Encourages States to make protective equipment and non-lethal weapons available to their law enforcement officials and to refrain from using lethal force during peaceful protests, while pursuing efforts to regulate and establish protocols for the use of non-lethal weapons;

Underlines the necessity to address the management of assemblies, such as peaceful protests, so as to contribute to their peaceful conduct, and to prevent loss of life of, and injuries to, protestors, bystanders, those monitoring such protests, and law enforcement officials, as well as any human rights violations or abuses;

Recognizes the important role played by national human rights institutions, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, journalists and other media workers, Internet users and human rights defenders, and other relevant stakeholders, in documenting human rights violations or abuses committed in the context of peaceful protests;

Urges States to ensure that national mechanisms, based on law in conformity with their international human rights obligations and commitments, can ensure accountability for human rights violations and abuses, including in the context of peaceful protests;

Also urges States to ensure that victims of human rights violations and abuses have, through existing national mechanisms, access to a remedy and that they obtain redress, including in the context of peaceful protests;

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 peaceful protests, in order to raise the capacities of law enforcement agencies to deal with such protests in a manner that conforms with their international human rights obligations and commitments;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner:

To organize, before the twenty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council, from within existing resources, a seminar on effective measures and best practices to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests, with the participation of States, relevant Council special procedures, members of the treaty bodies and other stakeholders, including academic experts and civil society representatives, with the aim of building upon the above-mentioned report of the High Commissioner and other related work of the Council;

To prepare a report on the deliberations held during the seminar and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fifth session;

Decides to continue its consideration of this topic at its twenty-fifth session under agenda item 3.

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