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Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- In addition to legislation that restricts the right to the freedom of assembly of LGBTI people through discriminatory law that prohibits "propaganda" or the "promotion" of homosexuality, some legislation also specifically prohibits the formation, running, participation in or support of organizations that advocate for the protection of the human rights of LGBTI people. This is the case of the above-mentioned Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act in Nigeria. The Special Rapporteur highlights that the Human Rights Committee has clarified that any limitations to rights protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, when permitted by the Covenant, may not be imposed for discriminatory purposes or applied in a discriminatory manner. Therefore, provisions restricting or prohibiting the right to freedom of association of a specific group on discriminatory grounds, such as sexual orientation or gender identity, is not permitted under the Covenant and must be reviewed with a view to repeal.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- In other cases, inaction by authorities may prevent some groups from exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The Special Rapporteur has received numerous reports from India regarding the disruption of public assemblies of Dalit individuals - members of the country's traditional "untouchable" caste. This includes one case in 2009 in which members of another caste obstructed a funeral procession and beat members of the Dalit community. Police reportedly failed to intervene, despite being present. In Egypt, peaceful female demonstrators were sexually assaulted repeatedly in Tahir Square, largely due to the inaction of law enforcement authorities. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, unidentified individuals violently disrupted LGBTI events in 2008 and 2014. In both cases, the police failed to provide protection to the organizers and participants. In several countries, stigmatization and counter-demonstrations against LGBTI pride parades and marches have also dissuaded organizers from holding such events.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of multilateral institutions 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations, for example, is implemented primarily via the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, which recommends Economic and Social Council status for NGOs wishing to participate in the Council. Status is required of NGOs to attend and participate in many United Nations meetings, and to make statements before the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur received numerous complaints that the process of obtaining Council status is long, complex, costly, beyond the capability of many small civil society organizations and impossible to obtain for informal organizations and grass-roots networks, in particular those which do not have access to the Internet. This has resulted in a perceived underrepresentation of smaller organizations, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups and civic organizations from the Global South. In addition to these practical barriers, NGO applicants also face political ones. The Special Rapporteur reviews both in section IV below.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The Special Rapporteur's vision of the mandate 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- In his third report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/26/29), in which he assessed the threats against groups most at risk when exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the previous mandate holder focused on the challenges facing groups that were often relegated to the margins of society, both in their daily lives and in the exercise of those rights. In the report, he highlighted the link between the denial of those rights and the marginalization of such groups and how that marginalization exacerbated their inability to effectively exercise their rights. Some of the groups considered to be most at risk were persons with disabilities; youth, including children; women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people; members of minority groups; indigenous peoples; internally displaced persons; and non-nationals, including refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers. For the purpose of the report, the groups most at risk also included groups and individuals who were targeted not because of their identity, but because they actively lobbied for the rights of those most at risk of discrimination and retribution. He noted that human rights defenders, including journalists, trade unionists and environmental activists, faced considerable opposition, harassment, stigmatization and even physical attacks from State and non-State actors in many countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Best practices that promote and protect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, States have a negative obligation not to unduly obstruct the exercise of the right to freedom of association. Members of associations should be free to determine their statutes, structure and activities and make decisions without State interference (e.g. legislation in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia). Associations pursuing objectives and employing means in accordance with international human rights law should benefit from international legal protection. Associations should enjoy, inter alia, the rights to express opinion, disseminate information, engage with the public and advocate before Governments and international bodies for human rights, for the preservation and development of a minority's culture or for changes in law, including changes in the Constitution. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that the formation of associations embracing minority or dissenting views or beliefs may sometimes lead to tensions, but he emphasizes the duty of the State to ensure that everyone can peacefully express their views without any fear. For instance, in Lesotho, the Registrar General registered the first ever lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organization in the country called Matrix in November 2010 (after numerous delays).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the right to freedom of association applies equally to associations that are not registered (A/HRC/20/27, para. 96). He endorses as best practice a voluntary registration regime that permits unregistered associations to operate. The Special Rapporteur notes with approval the recent ruling by a magistrate's court in Zimbabwe, quashing charges of running an unregistered organization preferred against a member of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe association.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, arbitrary differences in the policing of peaceful assemblies are a concern in some Member States. In 2012, for example, the Minister for Ethics and Integrity of Uganda allegedly intervened to disrupt two private civil society workshops: one on the monitoring of human rights violations, and another on the human rights of LGBTI people. Participants say that both workshops were targeted because they addressed the rights of LGBTI people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Fundamentalism and its impact on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association is also concerned when ostensibly secular States leverage fundamentalist religious teachings to restrict the assembly and association rights of certain groups. Nigeria (see A/HRC/26/21, case NGA 1/2014) and Uganda (see A/HRC/26/21, case UGA 1/2014), for example, have seized upon majority Christian opposition to homosexuality to impose draconian laws that severely restrict the assembly and association rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and groups (see, for example, A/HRC/25/74, case NGA 4/2013; and A/HRC/22/67, case UGA 5/2012).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Fundamentalism and its impact on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The present report can be viewed as following on from the Special Rapporteur's 2014 report to the Council on threats against groups most at risk when exercising assembly and association rights (see A/HRC/26/29). That report focused on the groups whose rights were being violated, which included persons with disabilities; women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people; and others. The follow-on report focuses on the other half of the equation: who are the perpetrators of these abuses, what are the ideologies that drive them, and what are the State's obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in this context?
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur strongly condemns the recent wave of laws, regulations and practices in some parts of the world designed to silence, intimidate and harass those who promote the human rights of LGBTI people through public assemblies. The aforementioned law in the Russian Federation makes "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations", which includes gay pride events or any assembly supporting LGBTI rights, punishable by administrative fines of up to 5,000 roubles for citizens and up to 100,000 roubles for foreigners and subjects the latter to deportation. Public assemblies are at the heart of an active civil society and a functioning democracy. Tolerance of others, pluralism and broadmindedness must be harnessed. As stated previously, it is not necessary to agree with what people do, but as long as it is done peacefully, and does not incite violence and hatred, it should be allowed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Some of the most prominent examples include "public morality" laws that have been used selectively against those promoting LGBTI rights. In June 2013, the President of the Russian Federation signed legislation banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among minors. There is no legal definition in the Russian law of what constitutes non-traditional sexual relations, but it is widely acknowledged to be code for homosexual relations. While legislators have argued that the main purpose of the law is to protect children, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the law and recommended its repeal, as it found that it encouraged the stigmatization and discrimination of LGBTI children and the targeting and persecution of the LGBTI community (CRC/C/RUS/CO/4-5, para. 25).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In addition, sexual orientation and gender identity are increasingly used as a basis for explicit discrimination in the area of assembly rights. In Ukraine, a draft law "on propaganda of homosexuality", which prohibits "propaganda of homosexual relations" aimed at children, was recommended in 2013 for the consideration of the parliament. This draft law defines "propaganda" as any public action to spread information on same-sex relations, including peaceful assemblies and educational courses. In August 2012, a Russian court upheld a Moscow city council ban on gay pride parades, prohibiting such assemblies for the next 100 years. In early 2014, the President of Nigeria signed the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, which bans gay marriage and also makes it an offence to register, operate, participate in or support gay clubs, societies, organizations, processions or meetings, or to make a public display of a same-sex amorous relationship, directly or indirectly. An offence is punishable by a prison term of 10 years. The provision effectively bans any public or private meeting on the subject of sexual orientation and gender identity. In Uganda, the President signed a new anti-homosexuality bill into law in February 2014. This law imposes a sentence of life imprisonment for homosexuality and same-sex marriage and five to seven years of imprisonment for the "promotion" of homosexuality, which directly targets and threatens the work of LGBTI organizations and human rights defenders. In Kuwait, the new criminal offence of "imitating the opposite sex" directly targets and criminalizes transgender people and anyone seen as not conforming to gender norms. It has resulted in harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, abuse, torture and sexual assault of transgender people. Expressing its concern, the Human Rights Committee has recommended that the offence be repealed (CCPR/C/KWT/CO/2, para. 30).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- [International human rights instruments that protect the rights of particular groups specifically recognize directly or indirectly the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for those groups:] The obligation of States to safeguard the human rights of LGBTI people is well established in international human rights law on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, in article 1, unequivocally reads: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Moreover, it is enshrined in the jurisprudence and interpretation of State obligations arising from international human rights law by numerous United Nations human rights treaty bodies. In its resolution 17/19, the Human Rights Council expressed concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- [Various international law instruments point to particular principles and measures that States should adopt in order to achieve non-discrimination and equality. For example, States should:] Protect people from homophobic and transphobic violence, prevent torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and also prohibit discrimination on those grounds, repeal laws criminalizing homosexuality, safeguard the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly for LGBTI people and recognize the rights of LGBTI people to enjoy or exercise, on an equal basis with others, all human rights and fundamental freedoms (A/HRC/19/41);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- As a starting point, the Special Rapporteur acknowledges that groups most at risk share the experience of discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment. He describes those groups based on their level of marginalization in the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Some of the groups that are considered in the present report to be most at risk are persons with disabilities; youth, including children; women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people; members of minority groups; indigenous peoples; internally displaced persons; and non-nationals, including refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
15 shown of 15 entities