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

A/HRC/RES/38/11No 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 2018.

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?

11 topics

Accountability Arms Limitation Freedom of Association Freedom of Expression Human Rights Human Rights Violations Law Enforcement New Technologies Public Demonstrations Report Preparation Right of Assembly

What does this mandate say?

23 operative paragraphs

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, 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;

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, 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;

Calls upon States to facilitate peaceful protests by providing protestors, 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, protestors, 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 women human rights defenders from acts of intimidation and harassment, as well as gender-based violence, including sexual assault, in the context of peaceful 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;

Calls upon all States to pay particular attention to the safety of journalists and media workers observing, monitoring and recording peaceful protests, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;

Also calls upon all States to refrain from and cease measures, when in violation of international human rights law, seeking to block Internet users from gaining access to or disseminating information online;

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 death or significant injury, 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 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;

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, and of monitoring appropriate training and use of such weapons;

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 protestors, those observing, monitoring and recording such assemblies, bystanders, 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 the role that can be played by national human rights institutions, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, journalists and other media workers, Internet users and human rights defenders, in this regard;

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 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a thematic report on new technologies, including information and communications technology, and their impact on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of assemblies, including peaceful protests, and to submit it to the Human Rights Council prior to its forty-fourth session;

Also requests the High Commissioner, in preparing the thematic report, to draw from the experience of treaty bodies and to seek the views of States and relevant partners, such as United Nations agencies, regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and relevant special procedure mandate holders;

Decides to continue its consideration of this topic and next steps at its forty-fourth session under agenda item 3.

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