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In 1971, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) adopted the Declaration of Commonwealth Principles. It stated, inter alia, “we believe in the liberty of the individual under the law, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief, and the individual's inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which he or she lives.”
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Developments over the past 50 years have increasingly seen human rights becoming a critical tool in the manner in which the world functions or aspires to. The adoption of a host of Conventions, Treaties and Declarations covering diverse areas of human rights provide evidence that at the international and the national level there is greater and growing acceptance about the role and place of human rights in the world order. It is becoming a legitimate benchmark by which members of the international community judge and relate to each other.
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All major international and regional human rights instruments recognise and define freedom of expression, assembly and association. Beginning with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), those rights are accorded a great degree of importance, especially when examined in the light of the principle of indivisibility of universally recognised human rights standards and the emphasis placed on democracy.
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Freedom of assembly and association are universally considered to be not only fundamental human rights but also essential to sustained economic and social progress and a basic underpinning of democracy within and between nations. They are implicit in the Commonwealth commitment to democratic participation and fundamental human rights set out and underlined in the Harare Declaration. As we have seen in Chapter One they are also set out in a number of international instruments to which the majority of Commonwealth countries are parties.
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In formulating the minimum standards, the EG examined the provisions of international [UN] and regional human rights instruments. In examining the instruments it was necessary to refer to the interpretations rendered by the relevant interpretive authorities. An overview of the relevant standards on freedom of expression, association and assembly together with the EG's observations on the standards were provided in Chapter One.
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We have already commented on the importance of the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of association. These rights need to be not only recognised and defined, they should also be sufficiently secured so that citizens' enjoyment of these rights will be guaranteed. It is, therefore, desirable that these rights be expressly included in the Constitutions or Bills of Rights of Commonwealth member countries.
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