Background

The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and of association will conduct a country visit to Niger to assess the situation and the compliance of the rights mentioned above, including the legal framework in place, the progresses, challenges and opportunities for the promotion of these rights.

Specifically, he will also pay attention to a number of issues such as: procedural and practical measures for holding peaceful assemblies/protests, facilitation of peaceful assemblies by law enforcement officials, human rights monitoring during peaceful assemblies, situation of labour unions, financing of political campaigns, situation of vulnerable groups, impact of counter-terrorism measures on the enjoyments on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, among others.

For that, he will hold discussions with government officials, civil society actors, journalists, lawyers and bar associations, trade unions, and any other actors relevant for that matter.

Objectives

At the end of his visit, Mr. Clément VOULE will present an end-of-mission statement and/or press release which includes preliminary conclusions and recommendations for state and non-state actors to implement. The full mission report will be presented at the Human Rights Council’s (HRC) 50th ordinary session in June 2022.

Key questions and types of input sought

Thus, civil society actors and all interested stakeholders are encouraged to submit general inputs and specific proposals with regards to:

• Good practices in relation to the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
• Challenges when exercising the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
• Potential areas to visit in the country, including outside Niamey.
• Relevant organizations and individuals to meet in the context of the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Niger.
• Most urgent issues, affecting the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, to discuss or seek clarification from the government.

How and where to submit inputs

You do not need to answer all the questions above but you can focus on the ones relevant to you. If you reply after 06 December 2021, your submission will not be considered during the country visit but will be taken into account for the Special Rapporteur’s report before the Human Rights Council in 2022.

E-mail address:ohchr-freeassembly@un.org