Lesson 12 THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT Internal security operations – Part B International Committee of the Red Cross Unit for Relations with Armed and Security Forces 19 Avenue de la Paix 1202 Geneva, Switzerland T +41 22 734 60 01 F +41 22 733 20 57 E-mail:
[email protected] www.icrc.org Original: English – June 2002 INTERNAL SECURITY OPERATIONS/ PART B LESSON 12 AIM The aim of this lesson is to describe the law applicable in internal security operations with regard to: [ Slide 2] 1. Unlawful assemblies. 2. Arrests and detention – • torture; • interrogation. 3. Searches. 4. Command responsibility. INTERNAL SECURITY OPERATIONS/ PART B 1. DEALING WITH UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLIES Another aspect of the use of force in internal security operations concerns unlawful assemblies. Key law: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that UDHR, Art. 20 everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. ICCPR, Arts. 21 & 22 These rights are reiterated in the International Covenant on Civil and Basic Principles, Political Rights. The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms Principles 12-14 contain further useful guidelines. As with all other aspects of internal security, the armed forces should only be deployed to deal with unlawful assemblies as a last resort. Indeed, the very appearance of the army might well stir fear or panic in the crowd. Police or paramilitary units should be deployed first, if at all possible. The army can be deployed if the situation deteriorates or to block positions away from the centre of the disturbance to prevent further crowds from gathering.