ICNL’s Written Submission to the 2017 IACHR Hearing on the Right to Peaceful Assembly in the United States
PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 2017
The United States is a longstanding democracy that prides itself on setting an international standard for the protection of civil liberties, including the right to peaceful assembly. The First Amendment of the U.S Constitution explicitly provides for “the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Yet, the right to peaceful assembly in the United States faces significant current challenges and looming threats.
This submission to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights provides recent examples of how the response by law enforcement and the government to demonstrations have restricted the right to peaceful assembly. It also provides recent examples of state-level executive orders and legislation that restrict this right.