PART II : RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WHEN DEALING WITH CIVILIAN PROTESTS I. Crowd control by law enforcement agencies 1. The authorities must take appropriate measures concerning lawful demonstrations to ensure their peaceful conduct and the safety of all citizens. Law enforcement authorities are under a compelling positive obligation to protect the demonstrators from violence. The police must deploy a sufficient number of police officers, to be positioned according to a plan at the site, and be well-informed of their duties. 2. Law enforcement can be charged with a crime when deadly force is used on a person. 3. In Sri Lanka, crowd dispersal duties are mainly twofold: police crowd dispersal and military crowd dispersal duties. The police crowd dispersal duties are contained in the Police Orders and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. 4. The military must follow the principle of minimum force, and the police must use necessary force when required for a legitimate purpose during a protest. This threshold should always be applied when using force. 5. The intervention of the police to remove a roadblock erected by the demonstrators on the main road, is justified to facilitate the free movement of the people under Article 14 (1)(h) of the 1978 Constitution. 6. Less lethal weapons with broad area effects, like tear gas and water cannons, tend to have indiscriminate effects; when such weapons are used, all reasonable efforts should be made to limit risks such as causing a stampede or harming bystanders. 6.1.The use of baton rounds, water cannons, and other forceful crowd control methods must be strictly regulated and recorded such as how many cans of tear gas, etc. were discharged. 20