On March 9, 2016 at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, presented their joint report on the proper management of assemblies. The report summarizes applicable international legal standards, and offers practical recommendations to States on how these principles might be implemented. The presentation and interactive dialogue can be found on http://webtv.un.org/.

“Our many conversations with States and experts confirmed that the ability to meet and act collectively is vital to democratic development and to the expression of ideas,” Mr. Kiai said. “It also confirmed that basic human rights are routinely violated in the context of assemblies. These recommendations provide a roadmap on how to avoid such violations.”

Mr. Kiai is a member of the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee.