ODIHR Note in Contribution to the Draft CCPR General Comment No. 38 on Article 22 of the ICCPR (Right to Freedom of Association)

Building on ODIHR’s long-standing expertise in legislative assistance, the Note aims to provide some views on selected aspects pertaining to the right to freedom of association as outlined in the Concept Note in view of applicable and relevant international and regional human rights standards and recommendations, as well as OSCE human dimension commitments. It draws on the relevant OSCE/ODIHR publications and legal reviews on the right to freedom of association, primarily the OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission Joint Guidelines on Freedom of Association (2015 (hereafter Joint Guidelines on Freedom of Association)) and the OSCE/ODIHR Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (2014), as well as OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission joint guidelines addressing specific categories of associations, including political parties and religious or belief organizations. At the same time, the present Note aims to reflect on subsequent developments and new challenges that have emerged since the publication of these guidelines, as also reflected in the numerous ODIHR legal reviews that have been published during the past decade. The present submission also refers to the OSCE/ODIHR Report on OSCE Human Dimension Commitments and State Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020) and the recommendations made during various OSCE human dimension meetings, especially with respect to the exercise of the right to freedom of association in times of crisis.