No democracy can thrive unless people are free to come together, organise around common interests and act collectively to shape the societies in which they live. The UN Human Rights Committee is currently working on a new legal standard, the General Comment 38 on freedom of association (Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR) - if adopted, it will create a strong safeguard for civil society and human rights defenders all over the world. General Comments provide an authoritative interpretation of the rights set out in the ICCPR. They are key instruments to help the States strengthen the promotion and protection of this right, drawing on the Committee's past decisions and broader international/regional human rights law.
In April 2026, the UN Human Rights Committee called for written comments on its draft General Comment 38. In our submission, we focus on aspects that we believe should be further addressed or clarified to ensure an effective protection of freedom of association over time, including:
- Privacy: Recognising the interdependence between the right to freedom of association and the right to privacy of the association and its members as well as of its donors and beneficiaries.
- Marginalised communities: Adding “internally displaced people”, “ethnic, racial, linguistic and religious minorities” and “political and human rights activists in exile” to the examples of people particularly affected by restrictions and interferences of the right.
- Civil disobedience: Clarifying that the protection of “ideas, activities and actions that might be seen as controversial, dissent or disruptive” includes “non-violent collective civil disobedience or direct-action campaigns”, as already recognised by General Comment no. 37 on freedom of peaceful assembly.
- Independence and autonomy: Clarifying that an association’s interest alignment with other entities, including donors, should not be considered as automatically undermining the independence and autonomy of an association, intended as self-governance and freedom to determine internal management structures, rules for selecting governing officers, internal accountability mechanisms and other internal governance matters.
- Access to financial services: Adding “access to financial services” to the examples of States’ positive obligations for an enabling environment of freedom of association.
ECNL has been supporting the Human Rights Committee’s work on the General Comment by facilitating consultation and information exchanges with civil society groups, national human rights institutions, academia and experts globally. The Committee will now be reviewing all submissions received from international organisations, States, academia and civil society – and is expected to adopt the final text by the end of 2026 (October-November).