Adequate planning and preparation is essential before embarking on any assembly monitoring activity. In this module, we will guide you through the practical steps that every assembly monitor should follow ahead of a monitoring exercise, including gathering background information, contacting relevant law enforcement authorities and assembly organizers, conducting a security risk assessment, developing a deployment plan, organizing a pre-deployment briefing and preparing a grab bag for monitors.
In Module 6, you will:
- Learn about the practical steps you should follow in preparation for an assembly monitoring activity
- Understand how to gather background information prior to an assembly monitoring activity
- Understand the importance of contacting assembly organizers and law enforcement authorities and informing them about your assembly monitoring plans
- Understand the importance of doing a security risk assessment, developing a deployment plan and organizing a pre-deployment briefing before any assembly monitoring exercise
- Identify what items you should carry with you when monitoring an assembly
Meet the trainer:
Main takeaways:
In preparation for an assembly monitoring activity, assembly monitoring coordinators should undertake a number of practical steps. The scale of preparation highly depends on the type of assembly monitored, the level of risk, the attitudes of the authorities towards the assembly, and the size and experience of the team of monitors deployed.
Monitors should conduct research and gather background information, including general information about the assembly, the domestic legal and institutional framework, and any previous policing challenges experienced in similar assemblies.
Monitors should contact relevant law enforcement authorities and assembly organizers and inform them about the monitoring objectives and methodology before the event. This allows monitors to gather additional information and increase awareness about the monitoring activity.
Monitors should develop a security risk assessment, identifying the threats they might be facing, any associated security risks, and the measures to mitigate them. The security risk assessment should include information regarding the assembly crowd, the assembly location and route as well as the police tactics and equipment used.
Based on the information collected through background research, meetings and the security risk assessment, monitors should prepare a deployment plan, composed of a monitoring plan and a security plan.
Monitors should organize a pre-deployment briefing to discuss monitoring plans, review the risk assessment, establish teams and delegate responsibilities.
It is a good practice for monitors to prepare a grab bag with items they might need during a monitoring exercise.
Before moving on to the quiz, we recommend you to review the main takeaways of this module, and to check the additional resources provided under the “Materials” tab above.
Recommended resources:
● OSCE/ODIHR Handbook on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, Second Edition, “III. Preparing to monitor”.
● OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe Venice Commission, Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, Second Edition. Section B, Explanatory Notes: “8. Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly”.
Handout:
