The ability to assemble and act collectively is vital to democratic, economic, social and personal development, to the expression of ideas and to fostering engaged citizenry. Yet despite the increasingly prominent role that assemblies play in today’s world, there is sometimes a lack of clear understanding of the applicable international human rights law and standards. To provide more clarity, the Human Rights Council requested in 2014 that the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, to prepare a joint report on the proper management of assemblies. That report (A/HRC/31/66) was published in March 2016, and compiled a series of practical recommendations oriented around 10 guiding principles applicable to the proper management of assemblies. The recommendations were based on consultations with over 100 experts and more than 50 UN Member States. This 10 Principles Civil Society Guide is a companion publication to that report. It is designed to help civil society organizations use the compilation to advance the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of assemblies domestically. It provides suggestions, tools and inspiration to CSOs as they... Continue reading →
The ability to assemble and act collectively is vital to democratic, economic, social and personal development, to the expression of ideas and to fostering engaged citizenry. Yet despite the increasingly prominent role that assemblies play in today’s world, there is sometimes a lack of clear understanding of the applicable international human rights law and standards. To provide more clarity, the Human Rights Council requested in 2014 that the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, to prepare a joint report on the proper management of assemblies. That report (A/HRC/31/66) was published in March 2016, and compiled a series of practical recommendations oriented around 10 guiding principles applicable to the proper management of assemblies. The recommendations were based on consultations with over 100 experts and more than 50 UN Member States. This 10 Principles Checklist is a companion publication to that report, designed as an easy-to-use tool to: (1) determine which practical recommendations contained in the report are already in place at the domestic level, and (2) help assess how well domestic and local authorities manage assemblies. The... Continue reading →
Issue No. 19 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • UN rapporteurs provide a roadmap to avoid human rights violations during protests • Human rights defender Berta Cáceres murdered in Honduras; Gustavo Castro Soto remains at risk • UN experts urge Western Australia not to pass anti-protest law • #FOAAat50: Celebrating 50 years of human rights through art and social media • Follow-up visit to the United Kingdom in April 2016 • Next UN General Assembly report to focus on labor issues • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special Rapporteur news in brief: February – March 2016 • World briefing: Freedom of assembly and association in the news For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click here (1.9MB file) or here (5.9MB full resolution file). To subscribe to our newsletter, please drop us a line at info@freeassembly.net with the subject line “subscribe to newsletter.” For other recent newsletters, see the links below: The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 2, No. 7 (Issue 16) (Oct. 2015) The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 2, No. 8 (Issue 17) (Nov.-Dec.... Continue reading →
The Special Rapporteur’s factsheet summarizing his joint 2016 report with fellow mandate holder Christof Heyns, which outlined a series of practical recommendations for the proper management of assemblies. The report was developed based on consultations with over 100 experts and more than 50 UN Member States. This factsheet draws heavily on the report and answers a number of questions regarding the management of assemblies, including: • Do assembly participants forfeit all of their rights if they are not peaceful? • Do human rights protections apply to everyone participating in an assembly? • Do States have a positive obligation to facilitate assemblies? • Should states require demonstrators to obtain prior permission for assemblies? • Can firearms be used to disperse a violent assembly? • Is there a right to observe, monitor and record assemblies? • Does the right to privacy apply in the context of assemblies? • Do businesses have a duty to respect rights in the context of assemblies? For the Special Rapporteur’s full factsheet series, please see:... Continue reading →
GENEVA – Two United Nations human rights experts presented today a new report to the UN Human Rights Council offering extensive recommendations to States and police forces around the world on how best to manage public gatherings. “The proper management of assemblies can in many cases serve to prevent an escalation of the situation and the eventual outbreak of violence. We believe that proper precautions and preparations can help to protect the rights of all concerned - the demonstrators, bystanders and the police,” said the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai. The report is the result of consultations with more than 50 States and 100 experts from civil society, academia, protest groups, national human rights institutions and police forces. “Our many conversations with States and experts confirmed that the ability to meet and act collectively is vital to democratic development and to the expression of ideas,” Mr. Kiai said. “Human rights are often violated in the context of assemblies, sometimes unintentionally. These recommendations are aimed at providing all involved with a common frame of reference of how this world-wide form of... Continue reading →
GENEVA – Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, will appear before the Human Rights Council on 9 March 2016 at 1:30 p.m. (Geneva time) to present their joint report on the proper management of assemblies. The presentation and interactive dialogue will be broadcast live on http://webtv.un.org/ The report summarises applicable international legal standards, and offers practical recommendations to States on how these principles might be implemented. The report has been drafted pursuant to a request from the Council in resolution 25/38. In developing the recommendations, the Special Rapporteurs consulted widely through a written questionnaire and in-person meetings with over 50 Member States, and with over 100 experts, drawn from academia, civil society, protest movements, and National Human Rights Institutions. “Our many conversations with States and experts confirmed that the ability to meet and act collectively is vital to democratic development and to the expression of ideas,” Mr. Kiai said. “It also confirmed that basic human rights are routinely violated in the context of assemblies. These recommendations provide a roadmap on how to avoid... Continue reading →
The ability to assemble and act collectively is vital to democratic, economic, social and personal development, to the expression of ideas and to fostering engaged citizenry. Assemblies can make a positive contribution to the development of democratic systems and, alongside elections, play a fundamental role in public participation, holding governments accountable and expressing the will of the people as part of the democratic processes. Yet despite the increasingly prominent role that assemblies play in today's world, there remains a lack of clear understanding of the applicable international human rights law and standards. When can a State require advance notification of an assembly, for example? Can authorities place limits on the time, place or manner that protests are conducted? What are the State's duties in terms of facilitating assemblies? In March 2014, the Human Rights Council requested Special Rapporteurs Maina Kiai and Christof Heyns to help answer those questions and more. This report is the result of their work - a compilation of practical recommendations for the proper management of assemblies based on consultations with over 100 experts and more than 50 UN Member States. Written input was also solicited via questionnaires. “Assemblies are not a novel phenomenon – people taking to... Continue reading →
