ISHR urges stronger protections for civil society in UN guidance on freedom of association

ISHR’s submission to the Human Rights Committee highlighted that human rights defenders face heightened and growing risk and that their freedom of association should be interpreted in light of existing international standards such as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as the civil society led ‘Declaration +25‘ which builds on the UN Declaration. 

ISHR emphasised both the negative duty of States not to interfere with defenders’ right to associate, as well as their positive duty to ensure the right to assemble peacefully, join and participate in NGOs, communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organisations, pursue their work free from stigmatisation and criminalisation, and seek funding from a variety of sources.

The submission noted the particular importance of ensuring that defenders exercising their right to freedom of association are afforded an enabling environment in which to work.

ISHR also zeroed in on the freedom of association in the context of civil society actors’ participation in multilateral fora. Drawing on reports of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, ISHR raised concerns in particular regarding the practices of the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. 

ISHR urged the Human Rights Committee to clarify States’ obligations regarding civil society participation at the multilateral level, including facilitating such participation, refraining from creating obstacles to it, preventing and addressing reprisals, and accountability through investigations and remedies.

The Committee’s call for input and the full text of ISHR’s submission is available here.