Compendium of Standards, Good Practices and Recommendations Good Practices and Recommendations Many OSCE participating States allow for the existence of military associations, either formally or informally. Given that the right to associate is protected by key international human rights instruments and has been upheld by relevant case law, it is essential that service personnel are permitted to organize themselves as a means to exchange information, know their rights and seek to promote these rights collectively. This also includes the right to be affiliated with national or international representative bodies. The following recommendations may help ensure greater compliance with the right to freedom of association: » States should permit all members of the armed forces to join either a professional association or a trade union representing their interests. » Special attention should be given to representing the interests of different underrepresented groups, such as ethnic and religious minorities and women serving in the armed forces, irrespective of whether or not any they are enrolled in a military association. » Military associations should be allowed to join national and international umbrella organizations. » States should organize a well-regulated social dialogue via which representative associations are consulted on issues concerning the conditions of service. » Armed forces personnel should be free to participate in the activities of professional associations or trade unions without being subject to disciplinary action, victimization or discrimination. » Where restrictions are imposed on collective action by members of the armed forces, they should be prescribed by law, non-discriminatory, proportionate to legitimate state interests and recognized in human rights treaties. Further reading European Court of Human Rights, “Factsheet on Trade Union Rights”, 2016, https://www.echr. coe.int/Documents/FS_Trade_union_ENG.pdf. ILO, Decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, 6th edition (Geneva: ILO, 2018), http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---normes/documents/publication/ wcms_632659.pdf. ODIHR, Guidelines on Freedom of Association (Warsaw: ODIHR, 2015), https://www.osce.org/ odihr/132371?download=true. 125