GENEVA - The 18-member U.N. Human Rights Committee has issued new guidance on the rules of engagement for people taking part in peaceful protests and the police monitoring them.
The committee's legal guidance, also known as the "general comment," is a comprehensive reinterpretation of all the relevant standards on the right of peaceful assembly. It has expanded from a cursory two-line definition to a 20-page document, and takes into account recent developments triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The committee monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its 173 member States, including the United States.
Work on the new guidance began two years ago, before the global pandemic struck. Its aim was to address the concerns raised by violent crackdowns on peaceful protests organized for a myriad of political, economic, environmental and other reasons.
The revision process was not a reaction to the pandemic, Christof Heyns, a professor of law at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and rapporteur for the drafting of the general comment, told VOA via video link from Pretoria.
"But when the pandemic came about, of course, it became relevant also because people were protesting against lockdown, and Black Lives Matter coincided with that," he said. "So, all of those played a role but it was not a direct response to the pandemic. There are some provisions in the general comment that actually incorporate the pandemic."
This includes guidance on practicing social distancing during demonstrations to prevent spread of the coronavirus, Heyns said, and on the right of participants to wear masks or hoods to cover their faces.
FILE - Protesters kneel in front of New York City Police Department officers before being arrested for violating curfew beside the iconic Plaza Hotel on 59th Street, in New York, June 3, 2020.
Governments should not collect personal data to harass or intimidate participants and must not block internet networks to inhibit people from organizing a peaceful assembly, he added.
Heyns noted the difficulty of holding peaceful assemblies during a pandemic, saying they run counter to states' lockdown requirements and constraints on the movement of people to stop the spread of the virus.
"I think at the same time, the danger is to say, well this can now be abused by states. So, they say, well we have a pandemic and for that reason stay at home and we do not want any opposition," he said. "And, then it is really abused. It is a pretext for clampdown and that is a very dangerous civil situation. The new normal becomes now that we cannot assemble at all."
According to the committee's guidance, the use of military and paramilitary forces to quell protests can only happen in exceptional cases and only if there is no other alternative. In addition, police and other state authorities must be identified at all times, so they can be held accountable for violations they commit.
The committee also called for the use of dialogue, not force, to de-escalate violent confrontations.