Good practices, challenges to freedom of assembly and association highlighted at civil society forum

7 November 2012

Yuri Dzhibladze of Russia, President of the Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, gives his keynote address at the opening session of a civil society forum on the freedom of assembly and association, Vienna, 7 November 2012. The forum was organized by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. (OSCE/Curtis Budden) Photo details

Promoting the freedom of assembly and association, as well as the challenges faced in exercising this fundamental right, were the focus of a forum for civil society representatives organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Irish OSCE Chairmanship on 7 November 2012 in Vienna.

More than 50 participants discussed good practices, opportunities and problems presented by the digital age and new technologies in promoting and defending the rights to freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly.

"The exercise of both the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to association, is crucial to the development of a democratic society,” said Yuri Dzhibladze, President of the Moscow-based Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights. “For this reason, a democratic state is responsible for guaranteeing and protecting these rights, as well as all other basic human rights, equally."

Diana-Olivia Hatneanu, Executive Director of the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania – the Helsinki Committee, said that the Internet has great potential to allow for active participation in associations, such as non-governmental organizations, and reduce administrative burdens for their registration. “Relevant legislation must be clear, and restrictions affecting freedom of association minimal,” she added.

Sarah Knuckey from the New York University School of Law added that new technologies and social media can reduce the barriers for organizing assemblies, expand democratic participation, and be used by citizens to document abuses by authorities. “However, new technologies can also be misused by governments to limit human rights through undue surveillance and the monitoring of citizens,” she said.

Participants compiled a set of recommendations to be presented to OSCE participating States at the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Assembly and Association, taking place on 8 and 9 November 2012, also in Vienna.