A/HRC/32/36/Add.2 24. Even where assemblies are not peaceful, participants do not lose the protection of a number of other rights, such as, among others, the rights to freedom of expression, association and belief; participation in the conduct of public affairs; and bodily integrity (see A/HRC/31/66, paras. 8 and 9). 25. The Republic of Korea has a positive duty to facilitate the necessary conditions for the enjoyment of rights. That means that the authorities should afford greater scope for the holding of gatherings and avoid undue restrictions. The view that protests and demonstrations are a nuisance and should thus be approached from a solely law and order perspective is incompatible with the needs of a democratic society. The disruption of ordinary life is to be expected, especially when assemblies attract large crowds, and must be tolerated if the right is not to be deprived of substance (see A/HRC/31/66, para. 32). 2. Bans on assemblies 26. Article 8 (1) of the Assemblies and Demonstrations Act permits authorities to ban assemblies that do not comply with a list of requirements (arts. 5 (1), 10, 11 and 12). In practice, the use of those provisions affords broad discretion to the authorities to allow or restrict the holding of assemblies and, in effect, amounts to an “authorization” of assemblies as opposed to notification (see para. 19 above). Police reportedly exercise wide discretion in determining when to issue a ban on an assembly. 27. According to government statistics, the rate of issuing of ban notices is minimal. An average of 0.18 per cent of notified assemblies between 2011 and 2015 were banned, although other interlocutors claimed the figure was higher. The restraint in issuing ban notices is commendable, but does not address the concern that in principle, pre-emptive banning of assemblies infringes the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and negates the obligations of the authorities to facilitate that right. 28. The reasons that police rely on to ban or find assemblies unlawful, such as obstruction of traffic, disturbance of the daily lives of citizens, high noise levels and later notification of a simultaneous assembly, do not meet the criteria set out in article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to justify limitations on assemblies. Only restrictions which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals, or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, and are lawful, necessary and proportionate to the aim pursued, may be applied (see A/HRC/31/66, para. 29). The wide discretion and powers to restrict assemblies have allegedly led to situations whereby, for example, press conferences held by college students around the issue of comfort women and also one organized by Kim Jung-soo protesting against fraud, were deemed unlawful assemblies because participants shouted slogans. 29. Article 8 (2) of the Assemblies and Demonstrations Act permits police authorities to ban the later notified assembly when two or more assemblies with conflicting objectives are to take place at the same time and place. That creates room for abuse, as illustrated by the banning of an assembly of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in June 2015, because counter-demonstrators had lodged their notification earlier. It was alleged that the earlier notification was solely to prevent the gathering. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that States have an obligation to protect and facilitate simultaneous assemblies, including counter-demonstrations. 30. Article 11 prohibits outdoor assemblies within a 100-meter radius of some key government and diplomatic locations, such as the presidential palace, the National Assembly building, courts and diplomatic offices. The Special Rapporteur maintains that blanket bans on the location of peaceful assemblies intrinsically constitute disproportionate restrictions (see A/HRC/23/39, para. 63). Imposing bans on the time or location of 7