Access to justice as an integral element of the protection of rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association – A/HRC/47/24
The report, submitted by UNSR Voule to the HRC, pursuant to Council resolutions 15/21 and 41/12 , addresses and recognizes the importance of access to justice as an integral part of the protection of rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
The report discloses the intrinsic interlinkage that exists between access to justice, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and the strengthening of civic space, in that they all represent a combination of human rights and enabling rights. This makes them all fundamental in establishing an enabling environment for a safe civic space. In countries where an access to an impartial and fair justice system is lacking, fear reigns and civil society can not thrive.
The report finds that in 2020 the worrying trend of closing civic space continued, with 43,4% of the global population living in countries rated as having a repressed civic space.
It goes on to identify impunity as one of the main obstacles to upholding access to justice and the rule of law. Where impunity reigns and the perpetrators of rights violations are not brought to justice, a paralyzing effect permeates civil society in the enjoyment of its FoAA rights, as impunity facilitates the recurrence of human rights violations, in particular for killings of protesters and repression of peaceful protests.
When access to justice is not guaranteed, people cannot fully exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association”, notes UNSR Voule.
The report outlines recommendations for the establishment of fair and efficient justice systems that are based on the rule of law in the context of FoAA rights:
Read the full report (A/HRC/47/24) in all UN languages here.
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