Freedom of Assembly
“The freedoms of peaceful assembly and association are not cultural or specific to a particular place or time. They are born from our common human heritage. It is human nature – and human necessity – that people come together to collectively pursue their interests.”
– Former UN Special Rapporteur, Maina Kiai
Assemblies — whether protests, parades, online meetings, or other forms of gatherings — are a core component of thriving pluralistic societies. The freedom to peacefully assemble is a fundamental right protected by international, regional, national, and local legal instruments.
ICNL and ECNL actively monitor restrictions on the freedom of assembly worldwide. We also offer resources and technical expertise on laws and regulations to enable the full enjoyment of this right.
Recent ICNL Work
State Domestic Terrorism Laws in the United States: A Growing Threat to First Amendment Rights
This 2024 report draws on ICNL’s database of state domestic terrorism statutes to warn about the chilling impact these laws can have on civic freedoms, including the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
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Defending the Right to Protest: Resisting Government Crackdowns on Nonviolent Demonstrators
People worldwide are coming together in unprecedented numbers to seek change through nonviolent demonstrations, but many governments have met these protests with repression. This briefer provides an overview of threats to peaceful protest and shares tools to defend and advance this right.
Read moreOther Recent Work
▷ Draft Amendments to the Law on Peaceful Assemblies in the Kyrgyz Republic: Legal Analysis (2026)
▷ Georgia: New Amendments Further Restrict Peaceful Assembly (2025)
▷ Elections and Civic Space: Lessons from Africa (2024)
▷ Assessment of Myanmar Civic Space: Changes, Challenges, and Impacts (2023)
ICNL Alliance Resources & Tools
Freedom of Assembly in the US
This page collects ICNL’s extensive resources related to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in the U.S, including our US Protest Law Tracker, our state terrorism laws database, and more.
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Library of Freedom of Assembly Materials
ECNL built this library of resources to support efforts to develop international standards for freedom of assembly and to help organizations advocate more effectively. Includes UN and regional materials related to the right of peaceful assembly.
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FOAA Online: Resource for Litigation and Advocacy
This resource is designed to provide easily accessible legal arguments for lawyers, activists, and judges to use to protect and promote association and peaceful assembly rights. Arguments are organized by theme and focus on common restrictions on FOAA rights around the world.
Explore hereUN Special Rapporteur Guidance
Freedom of Assembly Best Practices
This seminal 2012 report from the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association outlines best practices for promoting and protecting freedom of assembly.
Read moreGuidelines on the Management of Assemblies
This 2016 joint report from the United Nations special rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions offer recommendations for managing assemblies to protect the rights of the people involved.
Read moreMore UNSR Resources
▷ Impact of the 2023–2025 “Super Election” Cycle on Assembly and Association Rights (2025)
▷ Protecting Assembly & Association Rights from Stigmatization (2024)
▷ Model Protocol for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests (2024)
▷ All UNSR reports
Other Useful Resources
Guidelines & Best Practices
• ACHPR Guidelines on Freedom of Association & Assembly in Africa
• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Standards on the Right to Protest
• Venice Commission-OSCE Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly (3rd ed., 2020)
• UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement
Tools
• ECNL Guide to Digitally-Mediated Assemblies and How to Monitor Them
• OSCE Handbook on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly (2nd ed., 2020)
• ICNL’s Digital Legal Library: a collection of nearly 4,000 laws, reports, and other legal resources from more than 200 countries and territories, written in more than 60 languages.
ICNL’s Civic Freedom Monitor
Up-to-date, in-depth information on legal issues affecting civil society – including assembly rights – in 50+ countries.
ExploreCore Legal Instruments
The following international and regional legal instruments help define the right to freedom of peaceful assembly under international law.
United Nations
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art. 21)
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 20)
• Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (Art. 5)
Regional
• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Art. 11)
• American Convention on Human Rights (Art. 15)
• Arab Charter on Human Rights (Art. 24)
• ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (Art. 24)
• European Convention on Human Rights (Art. 11)
General Comment 37
In 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee issued General Comment No. 37, which provides comprehensive guidance on the right to peaceful assembly. ICNL and ECNL contributed to its development by providing legal expertise, organizing consultations with civil society, and coordinating their contributions. We also produced a short guide to the General Comment.
Read moreAll Freedom of Assembly Resources
Initiative Groups in Uzbekistan: Legal Status and International Regulatory Experience
State-Level Terrorism Designation Laws and U.S. Nonprofits
Draft Amendments to the Law on Peaceful Assemblies in the Kyrgyz Republic: Legal Analysis
Explore our full global resource collection, which includes reports, legal analysis, and curated collections of materials covering an array of issues impacting civic space around the world.
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