A/HRC/20/27 European Union Presidency Conference entitled “Civil Society Organisations, Human Rights and Development” in Copenhagen, organized by Concord Danmark and, on 16 March 2012, he attended the Fiftieth Anniversary Conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark in Copenhagen. 11. On 13 September 2011, pursuant to Council decision 17/120, the Special Rapporteur participated in a panel discussion on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protest, organized during the eighteenth session of the Council. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights prepared a summary report of the discussion (A/HRC/19/40). III. Best practices related to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association A. Common principles 1. Legal framework 12. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association serve as a vehicle for the exercise of many other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The rights are essential components of democracy as they empower men and women to “express their political opinions, engage in literary and artistic pursuits and other cultural, economic and social activities, engage in religious observances or other beliefs, form and join trade unions and cooperatives, and elect leaders to represent their interests and hold them accountable” (Council resolution 15/21, preamble). Such interdependence and interrelatedness with other rights make them a valuable indicator of a State‟s respect for the enjoyment of many other human rights. 13. Resolution 15/21 reaffirms that “everyone has the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association” (emphasis added). This provision must be read jointly with article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that “each State Party undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”(emphasis added)., and article 26 thereof, which guarantees to all individuals equal and effective protection against discrimination on grounds identified in article 2. This applies inter alia to minors, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons belonging to minority groups or other groups at risk, including those victims of discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity (see Council resolution 17/19), non-nationals including stateless persons, refugees1 or migrants, as well as associations, including unregistered groups. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are key human rights in international human rights law, which are enshrined in article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 14. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly is guaranteed in article 21 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the right to freedom of association in article 22. They are also reflected in article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in other specific international 2 and regional human rights treaties or 1 2 Article 15 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees Article 7 (c) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 (1948) concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise. 5