The Right to Protest Under International Human Rights Law

This chapter explores the legal dimensions of protest in the context of international human rights law, specifically, the right of peaceful assembly under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’). The discussion covers the nature and scope of this right, state obligations with respect to it and common issues that arise in state responses to peaceful assembly, such as the application of onerous notification regimes; efforts to disrupt, interfere with, or penalise the exercise of peaceful assembly; the intrusive surveillance and monitoring of protest organisers and participants; and the abuse of police powers, including through targeting human rights defenders, journalists and election monitors. This chapter then explores the relationship between peaceful assembly and other related rights under the ICCPR , including freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to privacy, the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to liberty and security. In addition to this, the chapter considers how regional human rights systems protect the right of peaceful assembly, exploring the nature of these protections, as well as how protections have evolved to be distinct from one another in two key regional systems: the Inter-American System and the African System.