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Each person has the right to peaceful assembly with other people.
The right to peaceful assembly prohibits the government from requiring a permit for such assemblies. The requirement to be peaceful is important — if an assembly starts or becomes violent, then it is not covered by this right and the government would not be violating anyone’s rights by acting to disperse a violent assembly, in addition to protecting the people or property who are the targets of the violence.
If a large crowd gathers for what starts as a peaceful assembly, and then someone initiates violence, all the people who want to continue exercising their right to peaceful assembly should move away from the violence. This helps law enforcement discern who is being violent and who is being peaceful and focus their efforts on the violent people. It also helps restore peace to an assembly after such violence has started. If the people who initiated violence then try to return to the larger group, the people in the larger group should continue to create space between themselves and the re-entering violent people, to create a kind of separation bubble around them, and to demand for them to leave so that the rest of the group can continue their peaceful assembly. The right to peaceful assembly means that people who are peacefully assembled may deny entry to others who they know would try to initiate violence or disrupt, or already did initiate violence or disrupt, the peaceful assembly. Denying entry is merely standing in the way — if the unwelcome person attempting to enter initiates violence against the people denying entry, they can exercise their right of defense.
Besides political assembly, the right to peaceful assembly is also the foundation for schools, concerts, plays, sports, religious gatherings, and more. People don’t need permission from the government for these because they have the right to peaceful assembly. However, the right to peaceful assembly does not allow people to ignore private property rights or to ignore regulations on reserving designated public spaces such as parks and cemeteries.
The government must provide at least some public spaces that do not require reservation and which are near significant public spaces such as a government center or in nature such as parks or in community buildings. Without such available spaces, the people’s right to peaceful assembly is severely constrained. If a government regulates the use of all public spaces to deter or interfere with assemblies then it is violating the people’s right to peaceful assembly.
Article 20.1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”
Article 23.4 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.” This is an application of the right to peaceful assembly in which the topic of discussion is employment conditions.
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