UN Special Rapporteur calls on Georgian Gov’t to “respect right to freedom of peaceful assembly, stop misusing less lethal weapons”

Gina Romero, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, on Friday called on the Georgian Government to “respect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to stop misusing less lethal weapons” following the “disturbing news about police violence against participants in mass protests” against the Government’s announcement of the suspension of EU accession talks until 2028.

Romero referenced “the international standards for the protection of the right to protest”, including the   Model Protocol for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests, indicating states and law enforcement agencies:

• are obliged not to impose undue restrictions or interfere in peaceful assemblies
• have a positive obligation to facilitate peaceful assemblies, including protests, by ensuring that those taking part can safely conduct their activities without discrimination or abuse

The Special Rapporteur highlighted “particularly worrying” information about the “targeted use of pepper spray in the faces of protesters and the combination of water cannons and chemical irritants”.

Evoking General Comment 37 on Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the right of peaceful assembly by the UN Human Rights Committee, the official said “less-lethal weapons with wide-area effects, such as tear gas and water cannons, tend to have indiscriminate effects”, adding “when such weapons are used, all reasonable efforts should be made to limit risks [...] and such weapons should be used only as a measure of last resort, following a verbal warning, and with adequate opportunity given for assembly participants to disperse”.

Further citing “the UN Guidance on less-lethal weapons in Law Enforcement”, she pointed out it indicated “water cannons and tear gas may be employed targeting groups rather than individuals”, while “irritant projectiles [tear gas] should generally not be fired at an individual”.

“In any event, projectiles should not be fired at the head or face, owing to the risk of death or serious injury from impact trauma”, Romero emphasised.

The Special Rapporteur also added “in order to meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality, the deployment of water cannon should be carefully planned and should be managed with rigorous command and control at a senior level”.

The public protests have been held outside the Georgian Parliament in the capital Tbilisi, as well as the Black Sea city of Batumi and western cities of Kutaisi and Zugdidi, with domestic opposition parties, non-governmental organisations, civil activists and citizens involved in the rallies.