A/HRC/20/27 I. Introduction 1. This report is submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 15/21. This is the first thematic report of the Special Rapporteur, who took up his functions on 1 May 2011. It introduces the activities of the Special Rapporteur over the period 1 May 2011 to 30 April 2012, and highlights, what he considers “best practices, including national practices and experiences, that promote and protect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association” (para. 5 (b) of the resolution). 2. “Best practice” not only applies to what is required by international human rights law, but also includes principles that go beyond these legally binding obligations (A/HRC/16/51, para. 10). It refers to both legal and institutional frameworks and must be based on an existing or emerging practice, coming from State institutions, intergovernmental organizations, international treaty bodies, international, regional or domestic courts (jurisprudence) or scholars. 3. In order to identify such best practices, the Special Rapporteur sent a questionnaire to Member States, national human rights institutions, regional human rights mechanisms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders. A total of 87 replies were received (see A/HRC/20/27/Add.1). The Special Rapporteur is grateful to those who responded to his questionnaire. For the sake of ensuring a balanced approach, he encourages any stakeholder to engage with him and to comment on any issues mentioned in the present report so as to ensure that the best practices identified rightly reflect the situation on the ground. As prescribed by Council resolution 15/21, the Special Rapporteur also used other “elements of work available within the Council” to prepare this report. He further referred to urgent appeals and allegation letters sent by special procedure mandate holders. 4. The Special Rapporteur underlines that, while the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are clearly interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing, they are also two separate rights. They are indeed in most cases governed by two different types of legislation and, as shown in the present report, they face different challenges. This implies that each should be treated separately. The present report therefore covers successively best practices related to the right of peaceful assembly and to the right to freedom of association. 5. Considering the very large scope of the rights at stake, this report does not pretend, nor intend to be exhaustive, but rather aims at presenting a first overview of legal and institutional frameworks that should be adopted and implemented to comply with the spirit and the letter of human rights in the context of the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. 6. Although the present report is related to best practices, the Special Rapporteur believes it is important to bear in mind that, in certain contexts, the rights of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association are totally or partially denied, as seen in many countries at the time of drafting the report. 3