To: The Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council

23 September 2010
Vilnius, Lithuania

Call upon the United Nations Human Rights Council to Strengthen Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly by Establishing a Special Procedure´s Mandate

We, the participants of the 2010 Human Rights House Network (HRHN) Annual Meeting, call upon the Member States of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council to strengthen freedom of association and peaceful assembly by establishing a Special Procedure´s mandate.

Freedom of association and assembly is a core value and a fundamental right that states have pledged to respect and protect. Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

In the regions where HRHN partners work we notice a trend of legislation being used extensively to reduce the space within which human rights organizations and defenders can operate. The legal system is used to silence human rights defenders and new restrictive laws give power to authorities to repress peaceful assembly. In many countries authorities require, but do not grant registration or re–registration, thus some organizations are forced to continue their work under the risk of criminal prosecution. New NGO laws provide for an intensified administrative harassment of human rights organisations. Many civil society organizations are inspected by state officials, evicted from their offices, denied registration and closed down by courts.

There is a strong need for the fundamental rights of freedom of association and peaceful assembly to be strengthened and given particular attention by the UN human rights protection mechanisms. The establishment of a Special Rapporteur’s mandate on the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly would be an important step to strengthen these rights. Such a mandate could coordinate and strengthen the UN’s promotion and advocacy on these rights by reporting regularly, identifying trends and issuing early warnings.

The HRHN Annual Meeting calls upon the UN Human Rights Council to establish a Special Rapporteur mandate on the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly without delay, and to provide it with the necessary financial and logistic support for it to be able to operate effectively.

Participants of the Human Rights House Network Annual Meeting

The Human Rights House Network is a forum of cooperation between established and emerging Human Rights Houses, uniting 70 NGOs in 15 countries in Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and South Caucasus, East and Horn of Africa, and Western Europe. HRHN´s aim is to protect, strengthen and support human rights defenders and their organisations.

HR Council decides to appoint new Special Rapporteur

The United Nations’ Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The resolution not only recognizes that these freedoms are essential components of democracy, but also pays attention to their importance to the full enjoyment of civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights.

Read more here.