Event information

10 March 2017, 13:30-15:00

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Peaceful protests 101: Exchange on the proper management of assemblies and the use of force

Event

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This side-event, co-organized with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and to the other international organizations in Geneva, will further the exchange of views and dialogue on the proper management of peaceful protests, including the use of force.

The consistent action of the Human Rights Council (HRC) on the topic since 2011 led to a Joint Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on the proper management of assemblies. Thus, HRC Resolution 31/37 encourages all states to give due consideration to the practical recommendations contained in the Joint Report, including on how to operationalize them in their domestic laws, procedures and practices, with a view to promoting and protecting human rights in the context of assemblies and peaceful protests.

The discussion will focus on recent publications, such as the 10 Principles for the proper management of assemblies (by the Special Rapporteurs Maina Kiai and Christoph Heyns), Geneva Academy In-Brief No.6 Use of Force in Law Enforcement and the Right to Life: The Role of the Human Rights Council (by Dr Stuart Casey-Maslen) and Latin American State Responses to Social Protests (by a coalition of NGOs including CELS). It will also open debate on other areas of the proper management of assemblies that have not yet been addressed, and the potential role of the HRC in this regard.

Moderation

Sabrina Dallafior, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to to the United Nations and the other international organizations in Geneva

Panelists

Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Stuart Casey-Maslen, Doctor, Honorary Professor, Law Faculty, University of Pretoria

Luciana Pol, Senior Fellow Security Policy and Human Rights, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)

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