A/HRC/19/40 other rights pertinent in the context of peaceful protests, such as the right to life and the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, must be guaranteed by States to all individuals under all circumstances. Mr. Kiai added that the use of force by law enforcement officials during peaceful protests was governed by international law and it was in that area that most violations and difficulties arose. Soft law provisions, i.e. the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, aimed at guiding law enforcement officials when policing peaceful protests. 16. Mr. Kiai further noted the increased use of the Internet, and other information and communication technology, including mobile phones, as tools that citizens could use in order to organize effective and peaceful protests and assemblies. However, he expressed concern that, at the same time, some States attempted to clamp down on these tools to deter peaceful assembly. 17. Mr. Kiai observed that, in spite of those clear and unambiguous provisions of international law, peaceful protests across the world continued to be brutally repressed in many countries. This was deliberate, and many States lacked the political will to respect the dignity of their citizens who peacefully sought to implement their economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights. He added that, although everyone might not like what peaceful protesters were asking for, everyone must defend their right to demand it peacefully. 18. Mr. Kiai encouraged the Council to continue its deliberation on this pressing issue, and made the following recommendation for the consideration of the international community, including the Council: (a) following the positive example of the OSCE Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, a similar tool guiding Member States of the United Nations in addressing peaceful protests, including spontaneous ones, should be designed, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders; (b) Member States should ensure that policing of protests was done in a manner that respected human rights. Capacitybuilding and technical support should be made available to those Member States that needed it; (c) law enforcement authorities should be held personally and fully accountable for human rights violations related to the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, expression and association. That accountability should be ensured both internally, within the individual organization, as well as externally, by an independent and democratic oversight body, as well as by the courts of law; (d) Member States should facilitate Internet access to all individuals, with the least restrictions; and (e) Member States should foster an open society in their countries, including allowing expression of dissent and providing through free and fair elections ways in which citizens could change their Government if they so wished. D. Santiago Canton 19. Santiago Canton, Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), stated that IACHR had identified that the lack of compliance with the obligation of respect for, and guarantee of, the right of assembly and freedom of expression by the States of the region resulted in acts of generalized violence that had also seriously affected the right to life, physical integrity, freedom and personal security of the persons participating in public protests. The Commission considered that States had the duty to allow the exercise of that right from the moment the administrative authorities received notice of the intention of persons to undertake a public and peaceful protest. However, States also had to investigate and prosecute those persons that perpetrated violent acts against the life or integrity of the protesters, including acts by State agents. In that regard, 6