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

On 29 October 2025, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee published a call for contribution to the development of the draft General Comment on Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on the right to freedom of association. A Concept Note identifying areas for input was published along with the call. On 19 December 2025, ODIHR published its Note in Contribution to the Draft CCPR General Comment on Article 22 of the ICCPR (Right to Freedom of Association).

In April 2026, the draft General Comment No. 38 (draft GC38) was published with a call for comments. The deadline was set for 30 June 2026.

The present Note was prepared by ODIHR in response to the above request to provide written contribution, within the framework as established by relevant OSCE human dimension commitments, which also calls upon ODIHR to enhance its co-operation with other international organizations active in the human dimension, and in view of ODIHR’s extensive experience in this field.