Part I State Obligations and Rights Protected, Ch.II Civil and Political Rights, Art.16: Freedom of Association

Abstract

This chapter discusses Article 16 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), which protects the freedom of association that aims at allowing the establishment of permanent groups. As highlighted by the inter-American organs, especially in their decisions and reports on harassments and killings of human rights defenders, the freedom protected by Article 16 cannot be guaranteed without the effective protection of other rights, such as the right to life (Article 4 of the ACHR), the rights to humane treatment (Article 5), personal security (Article 7), and freedom of expression (Article 13). The structure of the provision is based on three paragraphs whose content is rather similar to Article 11 of the ECHR. The first paragraph affirms and recognizes to “everyone” the right to associate without any interference. However, the right is not absolute, and the second and third paragraphs establish the conditions of restrictions of the freedom: Paragraph 2 indicates the requirements for a restriction to be accepted under the provision (legal basis, necessity of the restriction, and legitimate aims), while Paragraph 3 admits a special limitation status for police and armed forces members.