The Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center and the Centre for Law and Democracy have published a new joint report identifying key gaps in human rights jurisprudence on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and outlining strategic litigation opportunities to address them.

Titled “Freedom of Peaceful Assembly: Litigation Gaps and Opportunities at the International and Regional Levels,” the report provides an in-depth assessment of the standards developed by international, regional, and subregional human rights mechanisms, with a focus on the UN System, Africa and the Americas. Despite the existence of fairly developed catalogues of key standards, the jurisprudence in these systems remains limited and fragmented, leaving critical questions unresolved.

In response, the report maps priority areas for legal development, including the scope of the right, States’ positive obligations to facilitate and protect assemblies, permissible restrictions, and accountability and redress. It also highlights key strategic considerations for litigation, such as avoiding marginalization of assembly claims and identifying fact patterns that bring under-addressed issues to the forefront.

As part of the launch of this report, the Kennedy Humans Rights Center and the Centre for Law and Democracy will host a webinar on January 22nd, 2026, at 9 am ET, to facilitate dialogue among legal practitioners and international experts on the report’s findings and the future of strategic litigation on freedom of assembly. The panelists will include Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Pedro Vaca, the IACHR Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression; Donald Deya, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU); and Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy.