A/HRC/17/28* Provisions regulating the use of force 53. An elaboration of the norms applicable to the use of force by law enforcement officials – in any kind of situation – can be found in a number of soft law instruments, which also define contexts in which deprivation of life during demonstrations would be regarded as “arbitrary” in terms of article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 24 54. The Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials 25 (Code) sets the standards, supplemented by commentaries, by which law enforcement officials should execute their duties. Article 2 of the Code requires law enforcement officials to respect and protect the human rights of all persons, including the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The Code provides for the use of force “only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty” (art. 3). 55. Commentary (c) on article 3 states that: the use of firearms is considered an extreme measure. Every effort should be made to exclude the use of firearms, especially against children. In general, firearms should not be used except when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less extreme measures are not sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender. 56. The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials 26 (Basic Principles) state in principle 9 that: Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in selfdefence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. 57. Principle 12 under the heading Policing unlawful assemblies, recognizes the right to participate in lawful, peaceful assemblies, and cautions States that force and firearms may be used only under certain circumstances. 27 58. Principle 13 provides for the dispersal of assemblies that are “unlawful but nonviolent,” and states that “law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary.” 59. With regard to “violent assemblies,” principle 14 provides for the use of firearms “only when less dangerous means are not practicable and only to the minimum extent necessary” and under the conditions stipulated in principle 9 (see para. 56 above). 60. The guiding principle in respect of the lethal use of force or firearms is defence of one’s own life or that of others. The only circumstances warranting the use of firearms, 24 25 26 27 For a discussion, see Crawshaw et al., Human rights and policing (see para. 28, fn. 7); also Nigel Rodley, The treatment of prisoners under international law (Oxford, OUP, 2009), p. 495. Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 34/169 (1979). Adopted by the 8th United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Cuba, 1990. See also Standard 5 of Amnesty International, Basic human rights standards for law enforcement officials, AI Index POL 30/04/98 of 1998; see Giuliani Gaggio v. Italy App. No. 23458/02, decision of 24 March 2011. 11