Menu
Advisory

Public participation process on General Comment 21 on the Right to Peaceful Assembly

,

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is currently engaging in a public participation process in preparation for a General Comment on Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) regarding the right to peaceful assembly. The aim of the intended General Comment is to provide guidance to states parties and other actors on the measures to be adopted to ensure full compliance with the rights protected under this provision.

The Human Rights Committee has designated Professor Christof Heyns as the Rapporteur for the drafting of the General Comment. An explanatory note has been prepared, setting out a list of questions and some of the key aspects that are intended to be covered in the first draft.

A half-day discussion will take place in a plenary meeting of the Human Rights Committee at the Palais Wilson in Geneva on 20 March 2019. Interested stakeholders can participate in the consultation in the following ways:

  • Written submissions: All written submissions should be emailed to the Secretariat ([email protected]) by 4 March 2019.
  • In-person participation: All persons wishing to participate orally should inform the Secretariat ([email protected]) by 4 March 2019.
  • Webcast: The discussion will be webcast, which can be accessed here.

As explained by the Human Rights Committee, the Rapporteur will produce a draft of the General Comment following the discussion in March 2019. This draft will be presented to the Human Rights Committee for a first reading in a closed meeting during its July session. Thereafter, the text resulting from the first reading will be made available online for further comments before the second reading.

The explanatory note is accessible here.

Details regarding the consultation process are accessible here.

Please note: The information contained in this note is for general guidance on matters of interest, and does not constitute legal advice. For any enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].

Related Posts