This policy paper addresses this critical issue and aims to provide a series of legally grounded and practically oriented recommendations to State actors based on the application of the international anti-torture framework, a powerful yet underutilised tool for prevention, protection and redress. It also draws on other relevant human rights instruments notably the Model Protocol for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests (2024) (hereinafter “the Model Protocol”), as a key tool that provides States with practical guidance on ensuring human rights compliance in the facilitation of protests.
The policy paper outlines essential measures that States should adopt, supported by concrete, country-specific examples of good practice. It has been drafted under the guidance of the United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) Working Group on Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in the Context of Protests and Other Assemblies, composed of a global and multidisciplinary group of representatives from international expert bodies and civil society organisations.