OSCE/ODIHR expert panel explores challenges to freedom of peaceful assembly

Challenges in promoting freedom of peaceful assembly in the OSCE area are the focus of a two-day meeting of an expert panel which opened in Warsaw on 8 May 2012.

The first day of the annual meeting of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Panel of Experts on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly highlighted the specific challenges posed by the introduction of new technologies, the appearance of new restrictions, and changes in legislation and policies that hinder the exercise of this fundamental right in OSCE participating States.

At the meeting, the Panel will also map out its activities for the year ahead, which include work on revising and supplementing the materials contained in the ODIHR - Venice Commission Guidelines on Freedom of Assembly to reflect the challenges posed by changing technology and practice.

“The Panel's work is of pivotal importance in the OSCE space, as the limitation of the freedom of assembly remains a real and acute issue in many participating States,” said Yevgenii Zhovtis, the founder and Chairperson of NGO the Board of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, and a panel member. “By elaborating general principles, the Panel provides guidance on how this right can be promoted and implemented in law and practice."

The current edition of the Guidelines, produced in co-operation with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, was published in 2010.

The ten-member Panel was formed in 2005 to support ODIHR in assisting participating States, upon request, to ensure that their legislation related to freedom of peaceful assembly is in line with OSCE commitments and international standards.