The right to peaceful assembly

People have a right to assemble together to promote and protect human rights through peaceful protest or the expression of their views.

States have a responsibility to ensure that people are able to demonstrate peacefully and express their views without facing threats, intimidation or violence.

In the UK the right to peaceful protest appears to be undermined by recent prosecutions of anti-fracking protestors. In the UK peaceful protestors are now frequently finding themselves arrested for the crime of ‘Aggravated Trespass’.

See generally: ‘Why the Fortnum & Mason protesters’ case matters’, New Statesman, 17 November 2011

For anti-fracking protests:

http://frackingontrial.org/

http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/710751

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/17/anti-fracking-activists-trespass