FILE PHOTO: A silent protest march organized by Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County in SeattleShare this contentGENEVA: Governments have the right to restrict protests on public health grounds, the U.N. Human Rights Committee said on Wednesday .
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed by 173 countries, including the United States and China, has always allowed for restrictions to be placed on the rights of peaceful assembly on grounds including public health and the new document, called a"general comment", confirmed that.
The document's author, Christof Heyns, said the legal interpretation was intended to set out the"rules of the game not just for protesters but for police".On the issue of whether protesters are allowed to wear masks to hide their identity as demonstrators in Hong Kong have, the report said they had the right to wear them.
Asked about whether a state requirement to wear face coverings during the pandemic was a human rights violation, Heyns told Reuters:"It's understandable and acceptable that for health reasons there may be limits on your rights."