Background

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (FoAA). Its creation by the Human Rights Council in 2010 put the rights to FoAA at the center of international human rights discussions and helped raise awareness and counter the many threats people face while exercising these rights.

Women and girls have inspired and led mass mobilizations and collective action across the world. Whether they are speaking up against corruption and economic inequality, reclaiming democracy and political freedom, or demanding fair work and climate justice, women of all ages are at the forefront of today’s most pressing global struggles. While this is not new - women have been central players in movements for democracy, peace and human rights, including women’s rights and gender equality for generations – the power and visibility of their current activism is offering a renewed vision of hope in the context of democratic backsliding and repression of human rights.

Nevertheless, in many countries, women and girls who are publicly and politically active are at much risk of violation or discrimination in their exercise of these rights. They not only face well-documented patterns of state repression – that men, boys and those who identify with other identities also face -- but many additional obstacles, challenges and impacts that are gendered, intersectional, and based in deep-rooted discriminatory social norms.

Objectives

In this context the Special Rapporteur will devote his next thematic report to the General Assembly at its 75th session to the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association by women and girls.

Key Questions and type of inputs sought

Women and girls have inspired and led mass mobilizations and collective action across the world. Whether they are speaking up against corruption and economic inequality, reclaiming democracy and political freedom, or demanding fair work and climate justice.

How inputs will be used

All submissions will be published on the mandate webpage on the OHCHR website, unless otherwise indicated in your submission.