A/HRC/44/50/Add.2 36. Finally, in relation to section 18, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that, as a general rule, the military should not be used to police assemblies and that, in the exceptional circumstances in which this becomes necessary, the military must be subordinate to civilian authorities. For this purpose the military must be fully trained, adopt and be bound by international human rights law and principles and any law enforcement policy, guidelines and ethics, and be provided with adequate training and equipment. B. Good practices and challenges 1. The exercise of the right in practice 37. The Special Rapporteur has noticed that, in the management of assemblies, the general presumption that prevails is in favour of maintaining law and order rather than facilitating and guaranteeing the holding of assemblies and enabling the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. 38. The Special Rapporteur was informed that peaceful assemblies that aligned with the views of the ruling party tended to be authorized more easily; however, during the meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, he was reassured that, on certain occasions, even Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front demonstrations were not allowed. Despite several requests for official information on the number of requests to assemble that had been granted and refused, the Special Rapporteur regrets that this information was not made available to him. 39. The Special Rapporteur learned about the difficulties that some civil society actors working on sensitive issues had encountered in trying to exercise that right and the extent to which they had relied on the judicial system in order to challenge decisions by the regulating authority in order to obtain favourable court orders to allow them to peacefully voice their views. 40. The Special Rapporteur is aware that exercising the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in the current polarized environment is not only challenging but entails serious risks, such as threats, harassment, physical abuse and torture, disproportionate and excessive use of force, illegal dispersals and arbitrary arrests, detentions and even disappearances. 41. An emblematic case, although not an isolated one, is the well-documented disappearance of human rights defender and journalist Itai Peace Kadizi Dzamara, who was abducted and allegedly tortured in 2015, presumably as a result of his activities as the spokesperson for the National Youth Action Alliance and for leading the movement Occupy Africa Unity Square.12 The Special Rapporteur regrets the lack of response from the Government to the concerns transmitted through a joint urgent appeal and that no individual has been held accountable for his disappearance. 42. Equally concerning is the large number of allegations related to arrests, detentions and even abductions of trade union leaders that have taken place in connection with the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly despite trade union activities falling outside of the scope of the Public Order and Security Act. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur was particularly worried about the alleged abduction of Peter Magombeyi, acting President of the Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Association, who had led a series of strikes over working conditions and poor pay in the health sector. Although his situation was addressed by the Special Rapporteur with the Government before the visit concluded, the Special Rapporteur is concerned to see a number of similar situations. In fact, other trade union leaders with whom he met claimed that those members who were vocal in opposing the Government were living in an environment of constant retaliation and fear. The Special Rapporteur is worried that, in practice, law enforcement agents have used the Public Order and Security Act in a discretionary manner in respect of trade union public gatherings, marches and protests. 12 ZWE 1/2015. 7