This resource is designed to provide easily accessible legal arguments that lawyers, activists, and judges can use to protect and promote the freedoms of association and of peaceful assembly. Initially published in 2017 by Maina Kiai, former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, it is organized by theme and focuses on the most common restrictions on FOAA around the world.

This 2012 report provides examples of the legal barriers that governments use to constrain civic space and articulates international legal principles to protect civil society.

This seminal text offers guidance for creating and amending domestic laws to regulate civil society organizations, establishing the framework for such laws in internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

This primer from ICNL, commissioned by the United Nations Development Program, provides an overview of the legal environment for civil society and a general orientation to the reform of civil society law. Available in French and English.

In this 2013 report, the UN special rapporteur discusses the international legal framework governing civil society’s ability to access financial resources and analyzes several common government justifications for restricting such access.

This set of principles, issued by UN Special Rapporteur Kiai and the Community of Democracies, summarizes key aspects of civil society’s right to receive international funding.

This paper from the International Service for Human Rights examines the right of human rights defenders to access cross-border funding.

Access to funding is vital to civil society, and the ability to cooperate and receive support across borders further strengthens the sector. ICNL works around the world to protect and foster cross-border philanthropy and international development cooperation. Explore resources on this topic by a variety of international experts on this page.

Domestic fundraising is a vital source of funding for many civil society organizations. New tools and technologies have dramatically increased funding sources, mobilized local resources, and improved civil society’s financial sustainability. Explore resources on this topic by a variety of international experts on this page.

Faced with more difficulty accessing foreign funding, Kyrgyz organizations are reaching out to communities to develop new, local sources of fundraising. This ICNL report explains what methods are available, how they work, and how they are regulated.

This report provides a global overview of current trends in fundraising regulation and self-regulation and offers principles and recommendations addressing seven key areas based on international and regional standards and country practices.

In this 2019 report, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association discusses the opportunities and challenges of the digital age.

Online technologies are reshaping civic space by providing new ways to exercise the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly, and expression — as well as new methods for governments and private actors to restrict those rights. Explore resources on this topic by a variety of international experts on this page.

This 2011 article from the International Journal for Not-For-Profit Law explores the connection between new technologies and the fundamental rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

This report from the UNSR on the Human Rights of Migrants examines the right to freedom of association of migrants, looking at recent trends in restrictions in law and in practice on freedom of association for migrants and civil society organizations that work to protect migrants’ rights.

Civil society organizations have helped propel the global response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, their activities could slow down or stop altogether if the space for advocacy is tightened or closed. In this 2018 report, ICNL presents in-depth research and analysis on the ways in which the closing of civic space is affecting HIV responses in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.

This 2014 report from the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association addresses legislation and practices that discriminate against certain groups and deprive them of these fundamental rights.

The 2016 issue of ICNL’s Global Trends in NGO Law presents research on the approaches that governments commonly use to undermine the ability of environmental activists to exercise their rights to assembly, association, and expression. Their techniques include the use and abuse of existing laws, restrictive new legislation, and extra-legal strategies, such as public vilification and violence.

ICNL’s 2015 Global Forum included a session on legal constraints on the ability of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex groups to fully exercise their right to freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, and expression. The session identified successful strategies that LGBTI groups use to function and flourish. ICNL dedicated this 2016 issue of the Global Trends in NGO Law to discussing the challenges, successes, and lessons learned by organizations working in this space.

This 2020 report from the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association recognizes the contributions of women in civil society and activism and examines the gendered and intersectional barriers, reprisals and backlashes confronting women and their full enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

This briefer, presented by ICNL and ECNL, outlines some of the common legal and extralegal measures used to target civil society actors working on climate justice. Many of these measures violate international and regional law and threaten civil society’s ability to address urgent environmental challenges.

These 2015 guidelines from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe offer a practical toolkit for drafting legislation that promotes the establishment of associations, enables their operations and activities, and facilitates achievement of their goals.

This 2012 report from the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association surveys the legal and institutional frameworks needed to comply with the spirit and the letter of human rights.

These guidelines, released in 2017 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, provide practical advice on protecting the right to freedoms of association and assembly, based on international law and best practices.

In the face of the COVID-19 public health emergency, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clément Voule issued ten key principles to remind States of the necessity of responding in a manner compliant with their human rights obligations. The UNSR also published an accompanying checklist and survey designed to help assess the implementation by government authorities and other key actors of UNSR’s guidance.

This 2018 report from the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association examines the relationship between the exercise of those rights and implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This 2018 in-depth study assesses the effect of formal and informal restrictions on the right to freedom of association in Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. The report is available in English and Arabic.

This 2014 article from ICNL’s International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law argues that civil society and government are interdependent, with governments expected to provide a legal and regulatory framework that allows civil society to function independently and keep governments accountable to their citizens.

This 2007 article from ICNL’s International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law describes strategies and tools for protecting the right to freedom of association in politically complex environments.

This article co-authored by ICNL’s president and vice president summarizes the actions that countries around the world have taken to constrain civil society.

This report is an overview of the regulatory environment affecting civil society and civil society organizations across Asia, highlighting regulatory trends impacting civil society throughout the region.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 22

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 20

Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, Article 5

Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 15

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article 7

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Article 5

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Articles 26 and 40

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 29

African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 10

American Convention on Human Rights, Article 16

European Convention on Human Rights, Article 11

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, Article 22

Arab Charter on Human Rights, Article 24

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, Articles 17 and 32

European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 12

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Article 8