Objectives

The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément N. Voule, will dedicate his thematic report to be presented at the 50^th session of the Human Rights Council, to the study of trends, developments, and challenges regarding the ability of civil society organizations to access resources, including foreign funding.

Under international law, the rights to freedom of association (articles 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) encompass not only the right to form and join an association but also to seek, receive and use resources – human, material and financial – from domestic, foreign, and international sources. States have the positive obligation to promote and facilitate access to funding by civil society organizations, as part of their duties to create and maintain a safe and enabling environment in which organizations can operate free from undue interference and insecurity.

The Special Rapporteur has emphasized on multiple occasions that access to resources is crucial to the existence and operations of civil society organizations, as well as to the sustainability of their contributions to political, social, and economic development. The value of a well-resourced civil society has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, with organizations playing a key role in responding to the ongoing public health crisis and providing support to the communities they serve. In order to "build back better", civil society organizations must be able to freely solicit, receive and use resources to continue and expand this important work.

Key questions and types of input sought

The Special Rapporteur therefore wishes to receive inputs from Member States, civil society, national human rights institutions, academics, international organizations, and other interested stakeholders, by responding to the following questionnaires to help enrich this upcoming report .

Questionnaire for Member States: English | Français | Español

Questionnaire for civil society, national human rights institutions, and other stakeholders: English | Français | Español

How and where to submit inputs