United Nations human rights guidance on less-lethal weapons in law enforcement

After setting forth general principles on use of force, this guidance discusses international norms and standards on the use of less lethal weapons in a scenario-based, weapon-specific manner with a particular focus on the policing of assemblies.

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After setting forth general principles on use of force, the guidance discusses international norms and standards on the use of less lethal weapons in a scenario-based, weapon-specific manner with a particular focus on the policing of assemblies. If a user in the field is attempting to determine whether law enforcement has used a less-lethal weapon improperly while policing an assembly, he or she can find a description of the weapon, and refer to various scenarios for lawful use, as well as scenarios of unlawful use. Crucially, he or she can also find the specific threshold of conduct, which makes use of that weapon permissible.