Freedom of Association
“We human beings want to get together with others, live together, eat together, laugh together, cry together, play music together, dance together, work together, and act collectively to improve our lives.”
– Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the ICNL Global Forum
The right to freedom of association protects our right to form or join groups without external interference. This right ensures that people can join together and act collectively – whether to influence public policy, practice a religious faith, bargain for better working conditions, pursue shared interests, or anything else.
ICNL works with local organizations, governments, and the international community to promote this right and build environments in which people can collaborate to improve their lives. This page showcases some of our work on this subject and key resources related to the right.
Recent ICNL Work
Eight Things to Know About Uganda’s Protection of Sovereignty Bill
In April 2026, Uganda introduced the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, which would impose sweeping restrictions on the ability of individuals and organizations to work with or receive financial support from foreign partners. This piece highlights eight key concerns with bill.
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State Involvement in NGO Representative Bodies: A Comparative Analysis
This report examines how different forms of state involvement have influenced the role and functioning of NGO representative bodies in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, and Botswana.
Read moreMore Resources
• Room For Reform: The Legal Framework For Nonprofit Organizations In Japan: This paper, prepared with the Japan Association of Charitable Organizations, examines Japan’s legal and institutional framework governing nonprofit organizations and identifies areas for reform.
• Civic Aftershock: How Restricting Civil Society Obstructed Myanmar’s Earthquake Response: The devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar in 2025 was a profound tragedy. But its impact was deepened by the Myanmar military’s actions that severely hindered civil society’s ability to engage in relief efforts. This documents how the response intensified restrictions on civic freedoms.
Foreign Influence Laws
Governments worldwide are increasingly adopting laws that create foreign influence registries, frequently in the name of transparency. However, these laws are often written with overbroad and vague provisions, which are then used by governments to stigmatize or criminalize civil society – particularly organizations which receive funding from abroad.
Foreign Influence Registration Laws & Civil Society: An Analysis & Responses
Global survey of foreign influence registration laws which compares over 30 proposed or enacted bills and their potential impact on civil society. Also includes substantive arguments against overbroad foreign influence registration laws and potential response strategies.
DownloadGeorgia’s Foreign Influence Law
In 2024, Georgia enacted a new law which requires CSOs and media organizations to register as “implementing organizations of foreign power interests” if they receive certain amounts of foreign funding. Read our overview of the law here.
See also our analysis of the law’s implementing regulation, an overview of the implications of the law for civil society, and our assessment of amendments made to the law in October 2024.
Protecting Assembly & Association Rights from Stigmatization
In this 2024 report, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association highlights the harmful impact of stigmatizing rhetoric targeting civil society – including narratives around “foreign influence.”
DownloadAccess to Resources
The ability to seek, receive and use resources is an inherent part of the right to freedom of association. This includes human, material and financial resources, whether from domestic, foreign, or international sources.
Recent ICNL Work
• How Anti–Money Laundering Rules Are Reshaping Civil Society in Francophone Africa: examines how efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing are transforming the operating environment for nonprofits. (2026)
• Uzbekistan: New Law on Amendments to NNO-related Legislation: overview of recent amendments to laws governing nonprofits. Changes include new reporting requirements for the receipt of foreign funds. (2026)
• The Regulation of Foreign Funding of Nonprofits in a Democracy: this piece proposes a framework for how democracies should approach the regulation of cross-border funding for nonprofits, with five key principles to shape such regulation. (2024)
The Right to Access to Financial Resources
Seminal 2013 report from the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association which discusses the international legal framework governing civil society’s ability to access financial resources. The mandate also published a 2022 report on recent trends and challenges threatening civil society’s access to financial resources.
Read moreMore Resources
▷ General principles & guidelines on ensuring CSOs’ access to resources (UN special rapporteur, 2023)
▷ Global Grantmaking Country Notes: covering legal frameworks for CSOs in 30+ countries (ICNL & Council on Foundations)
▷ ICNL’s Philanthropy Law Reports
▷ ICNL’s cross-border funding page
▷ ICNL’s resource diversification page
Other Useful Resources
Guidelines & Best Practices
• ACHPR Guidelines on Freedom of Association & Assembly in Africa
• OSCE Guidelines on Freedom of Association
• IAJC Principles on Creation, Operation, Financing, and Dissolution of Civil Society Organizations
• UN Special Rapporteur: Safeguarding Freedom of Assembly & Association during a Public Health Crisis
Tools
• ICNL’s Civic Freedom Monitor: up-to-date information on legal issues affecting civil society in 50+ countries.
• ECNL’s CSO Meter: Detailed assessments of the environment for civil society in six Eastern Partnership countries in Europe.
• 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.
For Litigators
Check out FOAA Online, an ICNL resource that provides 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.
Core Legal Instruments
The following international and regional legal instruments help define the right to freedom of association under international law.
United Nations
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art. 22)
Regional
• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Art. 10)
• American Convention on Human Rights (Art. 16)
• Arab Charter on Human Rights (Art. 24)
Relevant Sources of Law on ICCPR Article 22: Freedom of Association
Since 2023, ICNL and ECNL have been advocating for the UN Human Rights Committee to develop a General Comment on the right to freedom of association – the only core civic freedom for which they have not provided authoritative guidance. As part of these efforts, ICNL and ECNL developed this report summarizing UN sources of law on association rights.
Read moreAll Freedom of Association Resources
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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