In the wake of a night of the latest onslaught by militarized police against unarmed water protectors at the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), Amnesty International is sending its fourth delegation out to Standing Rock since August... 

“Videos uploaded to social media from 20 November show officers using tear gas and water cannons against protesters,” wrote Amnesty International USA Executive Director Margaret Huang
in a letter to Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier 
of the Morton County, ND, Sheriff’s Department. “Reports indicate that rubber bullets were also used to disperse the crowds...” The water cannons especially were dangerous, as the weather was way below freezing, with wind chill making it feel even colder, Amnesty pointed out, noting also that the measures were used “just two days after MCSD issued a press release instructing protesters camped out in the multiple protest camps to refrain from building permanent structures on Army Corps of Engineers’ land and to seek shelter from the upcoming harsh winter weather.”...

According to the Sheriff’s Department, the actions were initiated after his office received reports that protectors were “acting very aggressively toward police,” Kirchmeier told reporters at a press conference on Monday afternoon, “increasing in their aggressiveness and their actions related to this protest.”... Amnesty was not convinced.

“While the use of the water cannon may have been necessary to extinguish any fires set to the grasses alongside the bridge, the use of those water cannons against the protesters themselves risks potential injury and hypothermia...,” Huang said in the letter. “...Any use of force—such as the water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets—by law enforcement officers must be necessary and proportionate to the threat posed.”... “The U.S. government is obligated under international law to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of indigenous people, including the rights to freedom of expression and assembly,” the letter read. “It is the legitimate right of people to peacefully express their opinion. Public assemblies should not be considered as the ‘enemy.’ The command hierarchy must convey a clear message to law enforcement officials that their task is to facilitate and not to restrict a peaceful public assembly. “ 

[full letter from Amnesty Intl. USA to Morton County Sheriff's Department]

[Amnesty Intl. USA action: Protect Human Rights at Standing Rock]