In July 2024, the Report A/HRC/56/50 of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Voule, “Preserving the gains and pushing back against the global attack on civic space and growing authoritarianism,” was published on United Nations’ sources.
This UN document of June 21, for the drafting of which our Association sent in advance to the Special Rapporteurits proposals and descriptions of relevant violations in occupied Crimea, calls for “urgent joint global action to respond to the global attack on civic space, to preserve the gains made, and push back against the emerging and deepening threats against the rights to peaceful assembly and of association.”
Among other things, Report A/HRC/56/50 calls for a renewed global commitment to these rights, which are also fundamental to the protection of democracy, human rights and peace. In particular, in paragraph 23, the document recognizes that “the global crackdown on rights and freedoms has been accelerated by the global threat to peace and security due to the escalation of conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” and further emphasizes that under the control of the aggressor, “‘foreign agent’ legislation“ “has led to the systematic crackdown on civil society and effective closure of civic space”.
Report A/HRC/56/50 states that “commonly known law against “discrediting the armed forces” to shut down any perceived anti-war expression or disagreement with the government position on the war against Ukraine, and to criminalise activists.” It is obvious that further work of civil society with UN mechanisms to protect the right to freedom of assembly in the context of Russian aggression will be continued.
