Recent years have seen an increased number and intensity of protests in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership region. At the same time, countries have experienced a significant increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly. To ensure systematic monitoring of local laws and implementation, in 2016 ECNL and its local partners produced the first comprehensive country reports on assembly rights in five Western Balkan countries. In 2017 ECNL extended the scope of the project and worked with local experts in nine countries on mapping the existing environment for assembly. The nine assessment reports below provide a brief overview of topical issues and recent developments related to freedom of assembly in the last years:
ECNL worked with the following local organizations so that the right to free assembly is better understood and partners' advocacy efforts are strengthened:
Albania - Partners Albania | Armenia - Helsinki Committee of Armenia | Bosnia and Herzegovina - Civil Rights Defenders | Kosovo - GAP Institute for Advanced Studies | Macedonia - Reactor | Moldova - PromoLEX | Montenegro - Institute Alternative | Serbia - YUCOM
The reports were conducted as part of the ‘Monitoring Right to Free Assembly’ regional project, managed by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL). The project is made possible by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) through the Civic Space Initiative, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).