Human Rights Article Twenty: Freedom of Assembly and Association

Everyone has the right to gather peacefully, organize with others and join groups of their own choosing. No one should be forced to belong to an association.

Human beings create change by coming together.

• We form community groups.
• Worker organizations.
• Professional associations.
• Social movements.
• Neighborhood networks.
• Political organizations.
• Religious communities.
• And movements for justice.
• Article Twenty protects our ability to organize around shared ideas and shared goals.

What is happening?

• Around the world, people are still prevented from gathering peacefully or organizing with others.
• Public demonstrations may be restricted or broken up.
• Community organizers can be threatened.
• Workers may be discouraged or prevented from organizing.
• Human rights groups may be denied permission to operate.
• Governments may place restrictions on civil society organizations or monitor people who participate in protests.
• Digital organizing can also face surveillance, internet shutdowns or censorship.
• In other cases, people may be pressured to join political parties, organizations or institutions they do not freely choose.
• When people lose the ability to organize, they often lose one of their most powerful ways to challenge unfair systems.

Why is it happening?

• Organized people can change things.
• That can make governments, corporations and other powerful institutions uncomfortable.
• A single person may be easy to ignore.
• Thousands of people acting together are harder to dismiss.
• Authorities may restrict assemblies because they fear disorder, political opposition or loss of control.
• Employers may resist worker organizing because collective bargaining changes the balance of economic power.
• Governments may restrict civic organizations because independent groups can expose corruption or challenge policy.
• The deeper issue is often about power.

Who gets to organize — and who gets to influence the decisions that shape society?

Who is affected?

• Anyone who wants to organize with others can be affected.
• Workers.
• Students.
• Community organizers.
• Human rights defenders.
• Environmental advocates.
• Political movements.
• Religious communities.
• Journalists.
• Neighborhood groups.
• Indigenous communities.
• Professional organizations.
• People peacefully protesting injustice.

When people cannot assemble or organize, communities lose an important way to express concerns and solve problems together.

Who is already creating solutions?

• People around the world are protecting and expanding the right to organize.
• Civil society organizations help communities participate in public life.
• Human rights groups defend peaceful protesters and organizers.
• Worker organizations and unions help employees negotiate collectively for better conditions.
• Community organizing networks help residents address local problems together.
• Legal advocacy groups challenge unlawful restrictions on protest and association.
• Digital rights organizations protect people’s ability to organize and communicate online.

And communities themselves continue creating new forms of participation — neighborhood assemblies, cooperatives, citizen networks, mutual-aid groups and participatory decision-making systems.

What can we do?

• Protect peaceful assembly. People should be able to gather and demonstrate without unnecessary interference.
• Defend the right to organize. Workers, communities and citizens should be free to form organizations.
• Protect organizers. People should not face violence, imprisonment or retaliation simply for organizing peacefully.
• Make public spaces accessible. Communities need safe places where people can gather and participate.
• Protect digital organizing. Online communication should not become an excuse for unnecessary surveillance.
• Support community organizations. Strong local groups can turn shared concerns into practical action.
• Respect freedom of choice. No one should be forced to join a political, religious, professional or other organization.
• Participate. Join organizations working on issues that matter to you — or help create one where none exists.

The systems-change question

Instead of asking:

“How do authorities manage people who organize?”

Ask:

“How do we design systems where people can organize peacefully and participate meaningfully in shaping their communities?”

• Article Twenty reminds us that democracy is not something people simply watch.
• It is something people do together.
• A healthy society needs spaces where people can meet, organize, disagree, collaborate and act.
• Because individually, our influence can be limited.
• Together, people can change laws.
• Improve communities.
• Protect rights.
• Build institutions.

And create entirely new possibilities.

• The freedom to assemble is the freedom to participate.
• The freedom to associate is the freedom to build power together.