freedom of assembly
Online platforms and electronic communication have facilitated the spontaneous, dispersed, democratic forms of protest characterising the movement in Hong Kong. A variety of different forms of protest can thus be promoted and organised from the grassroots of a leaderless movement. Thus on any given weekend in Hong Kong, while those trashing symbols of "red capital" (Chinese banks and companies) and "blue" (pro-government) businesses and engaging in running battles with the police hit the head...
To President John Magufuli Your Excellency, We, the undersigned civil society organisations (CSOs) from across the world, write to express our deep concern over the worrying decline in respect for human rights, including the rights to freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly, in Tanzania. We urge your government to take proactive measures to protect these rights which are crucial to civic space and publicly recognise the essential role that a vibrant civil society and an indep...
On 18 November, Maria Chin Abdullah, chairperson of Bersih 2.0 (the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections), and Mandeep Singh, manager of Bersih’s secretariat, were arrested, and the offices of Bersih 2.0 were raided, on the eve of a major rally in the Malaysian capital. Seven other individuals, mostly supporters of the 19 November Bersih 5 rally and people who have been critical of governme...
32nd Session of the Human Rights Council Item 3 Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education and on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Statement by the Association for Progressive Communications Delivered by Deborah Brown Thank you Mr. President. The Association for Progressive Communications welcomes the report by the Special Rapporteur...
This regional research paper frames the discussions of freedom of assembly and association (FOAA) online, focusing on the challenges, trends, recommendations and areas for further study in India, Malaysia and Pakistan. It is part of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) project entitled “Networking for freedom online and offline: protecting freedom of information, expression an...
Five years back, I took the highway to Grahamstown, South Africa. I had landed in Port Elizabeth, took a shuttle bus headed for Rhodes University and got off at the beautiful university campus. This year, many people like me will travel the same route to Highway Africa. But the 16th edition of this digital media conference will be something special. Africa rising? Organised by the university&#...
The internet, social networks and mobile phones enhance human freedoms to come together around social, political and economic issues, to build associations and networks, and to assemble online to advocate for and to defend human rights. This has been reflected in demonstrations and protests in the middle-east and North Africa; anti- austerity protests in Greece, Italy and Spain; “Occupy” pr...
Stu Mayhew – Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0“The Special Rapporteur calls upon States to recognise that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association can be exercised through new technologies, including through the Internet.” This recommendation is part of a recently released report in which the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful as...
