actors.66 The Commission notes that it is the responsibility of states to ensure that security forces do not use excessive force against protesters. It is also tasked with creating an environment conducive to peaceful assembly, wherein individuals can gather without fear of retaliation or harassment. Furthermore, in the case of Kevin Mgwanga Gunme et al. v Cameroon, the Commission further affirms that limitations on the freedom of assembly do not relieve States of their duty to guarantee that individuals exercise this right.67 210. Therefore, the right to peaceful assembly is an inalienable right that may be limited in certain circumstances spelled out under Article 11 of the Charter, including when it is prescribed by the law and deemed necessary in a democratic society. This is also the spirit of Proclamation No. 3/1991 of Ethiopia and the Constitution. Having said this, States must strike a balance between their responsibility to ensure that any undue bureaucratic obligations do not restrict the right to organize peaceful assembly and must further ensure that freedom is enjoyed in practice. 211. The European Court stated in Gafgaz Mammadov v. Azerbaijan that “[A]n interference with the exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly does not need to amount to an outright ban, whether legal or de facto, but can consist in various other measures taken by the authorities.”68 The European Court also noted that actions such as the dispersal of the assembly, the arrest of participants, or the imposition of penalties for participating in an assembly all qualify as undue restrictions. 212. Furthermore, according to the Commission’s Guidelines on Freedom of Assembly and Association, where States enact laws on freedom of assembly, those laws shall aim primarily at facilitating the enjoyment of the right.69 An assembly should be deemed peaceful if its organizers have expressed peaceful intentions and if the conduct of the assembly participants is generally peaceful.70 This was also the view of the European Court in Oya Ataman v. Turkey, where the Court stated that when assemblies are peaceful and demonstrators do not engage in any violent act, States should show “a certain degree of tolerance.” In this sense, the Commission underlines that tolerance from public authorities Communication 446/13 Jennifer Williams and Others (represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights) v Republic of Zimbabwe (2021) ACHPR 154. 67 n 16 above138. 68 Gafgaz Mammadov v. Azerbaijan, European Court, Judgment of 15 October 2015, para. 50; Gülcü v. Turkey, European Court, Judgment of 19 January 2016, para. 91. 69 FoAA, Para 66. 70 FoAA, Para 70. 66 ~ 41 ~ African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 31 Bijilo Annex Layout, Kombo North District, West Coast Region, The Gambia, Phone: (220) 230 4361 Fax: (220) 441 05 04 Email: au-banjul@africa-union.org https:/achpr.au.int/