TRES/004/10/2011: Resolution on Freedom of Assembly and Association in Africa
We, the participants to the NGO Forum in the 50 th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and 24 th African Human Rights Book Fair held from 19 th – 21 st October, 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia
Cognisant that freedom of association and assembly as recognised in article 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right form the foundational basis enabling all to carry out their activities effectively around the continent;
Concerned about the continued attacks on Civil Society Organisations and Human Rights Defenders by state and non state actors through acts of commission or omission as witnessed over the years and in the recent past across the continent with adoption and implementation of laws, policies, and administrative practices that constrict the operating space of Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Organisations in some member states of the African Union ;
Recognising that enjoyment of the rights to freedom of association and assembly facilitate the promotion as well as protection of other civil, political, economic and social rights and that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are essential components of democracy, providing all with opportunities to, inter alia, express their political views, receive and impart information and participate in cultural activities as well as economic and social activities that will lead to development, engage in religious practices or other beliefs, form and join trade unions and cooperatives, and elect leaders to represent their interests and hold them accountable as well as participating in other processes of national importance;
Recognising that exercising the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association must be free of restrictions such as rigorous registration requirements, limitations on sources of funding, prevention of implementation of activities because of the conduct of state and non state actors, but reiterating that such interference must be subject only to the limitations permitted by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right and other international human rights instruments is indispensable to the full enjoyment of these rights, particularly when it comes to important role that is played Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Organisations in ensuring that human rights enunciated in the African Charter are enjoyed by all from Africa,
Hereby urges the African Commission to:
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call upon members of the African Union to respect and fully protect the rights of Civil Society Organisations as well as Human Rights Defenders such as Trade Union Organisations, political parties, women groups, students, cultural groups and people working on sensitive thematic areas, to carry out their legitimate activities through the exercise of the rights to assemble peacefully and associate freely, including in the context of elections, and the exercise of their other activities and to take all necessary measures to ensure that any restrictions on the free exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law;
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Call upon the member states to provide conducive and enabling environment through progressive legislative, policy and administrative framework with adequate protections and guarantees supported by democratic institutions to achieve the full enjoyment of the rights to associate, assemble.
- Work with progressive non-state actors to increase its promotional activities to further interpret the rights to association and assembly through its protective and promotional mandates by collaborating greatly with Civil Society Organizations to assist States to promote and protect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
Done in Banjul – 21 st October, 2011
