the parliament building the police asked them to divert the march. According to Mavunga, “The riot police came and asked the activists to sit down and then they started to beat them one by one with baton sticks before telling them to leave. Some people panicked and there was a stampede which injured about 24 people, seven of whom were seriously injured and taken to the hospital.”15 Medical personnel who treated the activists at a private medical unit told Human Rights Watch that some of the activists had sustained extensive soft tissue injuries on the elbows, arms and backs consistent with blows from police batons.16 The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials provide that law enforcement officials should apply non-violent means in carrying out their duties and only use force when strictly necessary.17 When the use of force is unavoidable, it should be used in proportion to the seriousness of the offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved, and shall minimize damage and injury.18 15 Ibid. 16 Human Rights Watch interview with medical personnel (names withheld), Harare, September 25, 2006. 17 Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (the Basic Principles), adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.144/28/Rev.1 at 112 (1990), http://www.unhcr.ch/html/menue3/b/h_comp43.htm (accessed October 9, 2006), principle 4; United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, adopted December 17, 1979, G.A. res. 34/169, annex, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 186, U.N. Doc. A/34/46 (1979), http://www.unhcr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp42.htm (accessed October 9, 2006), article 3. 18 Basic Principles, principle 5. 9 Human rights watch November 2006