1) No one should be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with procedures that are established by law, based on reasonable suspicion of the person having committed an offence, or when it is necessary to prevent their committing an offence or fleeing after having done so, without resorting to excessive use of force. In the context of protests:
a) There should be no mass stops and searches; any stops and searches, including searches of electronic devices, and arrests and detentions of protesters must be individualised and based on particularised facts;
b) All arrests, detentions and any subsequent trials should be carried out in accordance with both formal and substantive rules of domestic and international law, including the principle of non-discrimination. They should be free from arbitrariness, in that the laws and their application must be appropriate, just and foreseeable, and must comply with the due process of law, including the right to access a lawyer at all stages of the judicial proceedings, the right to adequate time and facilities to challenge the decisions, and the right to cross-examine witnesses.
c) In case it is necessary to make multiple arrests based on the unlawful conduct of protesters, law enforcement officers should ensure that:
i) The only individuals arrested are those who are observed to have engaged in unlawful activity, as opposed to simply being in a public area near unlawful activity;
ii) There are workable models for transporting, booking, holding, feeding, and administering and ensuring the health and safety of any large number of detainees in compliance with international human rights standards;
iii) Any detention facilities set up specifically for large protest events should have emergency management plans created by policing entities which provide specific instructions as to what constitutes an emergency and what steps should be taken in each scenario. Every person staffing such a facility must be trained in emergency procedures, and appropriate run-throughs should be conducted to ensure the safety and security of staff and detainees.
To comment in detail on state duties regarding stop and search, detention and arrest of protesters, click here