22/ POLICING ASSEMBLIES IN AFRICA: Guidelines for the Policing of Assemblies by Law Enforcement Officials in Africa 21.2.2.2. Minimise damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life; 21.2.2.3. Ensure that assistance and medical aid are provided to any injured person at the earliest possible opportunity; 21.2.2.4. Where force or firearms are used, report the incident promptly to their commanders. 21.2.3. Restrictions on the use of firearms must be provided for in law. These restrictions should limit the use of firearms to circumstances in which there is an imminent risk of death or serious injury to a person, or to prevent the commission of a serious crime involving a grave threat to life, and only when less extreme measures are insufficient to achieve these objectives. Whenever law enforcement officials resort to the use of firearms, they must identify themselves and give a clear warning of their intention to use firearms with sufficient time for the warnings to be observed. Shots fired into the air or other warning shots should not be used in the context of an assembly operation. 21.2.4. Firearms are not an appropriate tactical tool for the policing of assemblies. Firearms must never be used to disperse an assembly. The indiscriminate discharge of firearms into a crowd is a violation of the right to life. 21.2.5. Weapons that cannot be used safely and effectively in crowd control settings, such as multiple projectile shotguns, must be prohibited from use in the policing of assemblies. 21.2.6. Crowd control weapons, including less lethal crowd control weapons, should only be used when there are legitimate grounds for the use of force or for dispersal, and only when their use is necessary and proportionate and in circumstances when other less harmful means have been attempted and found to be ineffective or will be ineffective under the circumstances. 21.2.7. To minimise the harmful effects on assembly participants, observers and bystanders, law enforcement officials must exercise particular caution when using crowd control devices or other less lethal weapons which have the potential for use in an arbitrary and/or discriminate manner and/or are indiscriminate in their effects. The inherent effects and proper use of crowd control devices must be independently and regularly evaluated and controlled. 21.2.8. Less lethal weapons, designed for the purposes of crowd control, may be abused by law enforcement officials who presume that such weapons are never lethal. Therefore, less lethal crowd control weapons should only be used by well-trained law enforcement officials in order to prevent and minimise deaths, injuries and harm, and in a manner that complies with regional and international human rights standards. Prior to use, there must be in place precautionary measures such as appropriate independent testing of and training in the use of each type of device, in a range of situations, and in accordance with international standards. 21.3. Means required to ensure a rights-based approach to the use of force and firearms 21.3.1. Law enforcement agencies should provide officials with a range of appropriate personal protective equipment and appropriate less-lethal weapons to reduce reliance on methods that are capable of causing death or serious injury. Appropriate protective and less-lethal equipment includes shields, helmets, batons, bulletproof APCOF Guidelines on policing assemblies TEXT.indd 22 12/04/2017 17:07:44