Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

The right to assemble peacefully is an essential condition for the exercise of other human rights such as the freedom of expression. As a true foundation of democracy, the right to assemble is guaranteed by major human rights treaties and by a commitment made by OSCE participating States in 1990, in Copenhagen. These Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly are a new cornerstone of this assistance, adding to the ODIHR's Legislationline.org database, where lawmakers can obtain examples from other countries' legislation that can help them prepare legislation regulating the exercise of the freedom of assembly.