The right to freedom of peaceful assembly includes the right to plan and organize a peaceful assembly in a lawful manner. This right shall not be restricted, with exceptions for specific circumstances that include, but are not limited to, the protection of national security and public health. States are obligated to protect the rights of all individuals to assemble peacefully and associate freely, online and offline, in various contexts, such as elections, and including persons expressing minority or dissenting views or beliefs, such as human rights defenders. Freedom of peaceful assembly The right to freedom of association is intrinsically linked with the freedom of peaceful assembly.133 The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has stressed that active citizenship is key in times of crisis and reminded states that emergencies should not be used as pretexts for infringing on these rights. In particular, he stressed that states had to enable CSOs to continue their work and provide social and humanitarian support during the COVID-19 pandemic.134 Freedom of association Examples of impacts on women: • Prohibitions on public gatherings and limiting the activities of CSOs during emergencies restrict women from exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Women are underrepresented in formal political office and, therefore, alternative channels through which they can advocate for their rights are vital. During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health concerns have been used to justify restricting women’s demonstrations that were intended to publicly raise human rights issues. Several of the actions to limit women’s rights to peaceful assembly and association were in response to International Women’s Day events (held on 8 March 2020, before the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic). For instance, in Kyrgyzstan, women activists at a planned demonstration against gender-based violence were attacked by counter protestors and then detained by the police.135 In Turkey, police blockaded and used tear gas against women marchers in central Istanbul.136 In both cases, the police actions were justified as measures to control the pandemic. In Poland, police warned women demonstrating against a parliamentary proposal related to reproductive and sexual health rights that they would be held criminally liable for violating lockdown rules; many women protested from their cars or when queuing at shops.137 133 The right may only be restricted when required to protect public security, public safety or public health. See: ICCPR, op. cit., note 80, Art. 22; Note that Article 11 of the ECHR protects the “right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association”. See: Council of Europe, ECHR, 1 June 2010, https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf. 134 OHCHR, “’States Responses to Covid 19 Threat Should Not Halt Freedoms of Assembly and Association’ – UN Expert on the Rights to Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Mr. Clément Voule”, 14 April 2020, <https://www. ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25788&LangID=E>. 135 Deutsche Welle, “International Women’s Day: Rights Activists Attacked and Detained”, 8 March 2020, <https://www. dw.com/en/international-womens-day-rights-activists-attacked-and-detained/a-52682833>. 136 Haaretz, “Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas to Disperse International Women’s Day March in Istanbul”, 8 March 2020, <https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/turkey/ turkish-police-block-international-women-s-day-march-in-istanbul-1.8640200>. 137 Reuters, “Protesting Poles Engage in Drive for Abortion Rights”, 14 April 2020, <https:// www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-poland-abortion/ protesting-poles-engage-in-drive-for-abortion-rights-idUSKCN21W1EP>. 40