Ability of associations to access financial resources as a vital part of the right to freedom of association & Ability to hold peaceful assemblies as an integral component of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly 2013, para. 23
Paragraph
Paragraph text
Under the Covenant, any limitation must not only pursue a legitimate interest but also be "necessary in a democratic society." It is only when groups engage in the aforementioned confined activities that they can be labelled as a terrorist group. It is therefore a violation of international law for counter-terrorism or "anti-extremism" measures to be used as a pretext to constrain dissenting views or independent civil society. As highlighted by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, "[s]tates shall not invoke national security as a justification for measures aimed at suppressing opposition or to justify repressive practices against its population. The onus is on the Government to prove that a threat to one of the grounds for limitation exists and that the measures are taken to deal with the threat." In order to meet the proportionality and necessity test, restrictive measures must be the least intrusive means to achieve the desired objective and be limited to the associations falling within the clearly identified aspects characterizing terrorism only. They must not target all civil society associations, as is regrettably the case in a new law against organized crime in Venezuela. Laws drafted in general terms limiting, or even banning funding under the justification of counter-terrorism do not comply with the requisites of "proportionality" and "necessity".
Legal status
Non-negotiated soft law
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Means of adoption
N.A.
Topic(s)
Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
All
Year
2013
Paragraph type
Other
Reference
SR Freedom of Assembly, Report to the HRC (2013), A/HRC/23/39, para. 23.