Freedom of assembly

Lore & Background

Freedom of assembly is included in several major human rights instruments, such as Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 15 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Many national and regional constitutions also recognize this right, including those of Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, the UAE, the United States, and Venezuela.

Reader's Guide

The terms freedom of assembly and freedom of association may be used to distinguish between the freedom to assemble in public places and the freedom to join an association. Freedom of assembly is often used in the context of the right to protest, while freedom of association is used in the context of labor rights. The Constitution of the United States is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association. This right is foundational to democratic participation and collective action, allowing individuals to gather peacefully to advocate for shared interests. Its inclusion in numerous international and national legal frameworks underscores its status as a fundamental civil liberty. The right is not absolute, as it may be subject to lawful restrictions, but its protection is a key indicator of a society's commitment to political freedom and human rights.

Did You Know?

• Freedom of assembly is included in Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• The Constitution of the United States is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association.
• Freedom of assembly is often used in the context of the right to protest, while freedom of association is used in the context of labor rights.
• The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of assembly in Article 19.

Origins and Founding Vision

In April 2016, Zoe Konstantopoulou—who had previously served as President of the Hellenic Parliament—stepped outside the traditional party system to launch a new political formation called Course of Freedom (Πλεύση Ελευθερίας). The founding declaration laid out a compact set of commitments: advancing democracy, ensuring justice and transparency, defending citizens' rights, demanding cancellation of Greece's national debt, and pressing for reparations linked to World War II. Konstantopoulou's motivation was deeply personal and political; she had long opposed austerity measures, what she called neoliberal economic policy, tax structures she viewed as unequal, and the influence of Greece's international creditors and the Troika. The party positioned itself squarely against the memoranda that had constrained Greek fiscal policy, framing its entire project as a rejection of the political establishment that had accepted those constraints. Rather than aligning with existing left or right formations, Konstantopoulou presented the new vehicle as an anti-systemic alternative rooted in popular sovereignty and institutional accountability.

Ideological Identity and Political Classification

Placing Course of Freedom on the conventional left-right spectrum has proven genuinely difficult for scholars and commentators alike. Mattia Zulianello, a political science professor at the University of Trieste, classified the formation as left-wing populist, while other analysts have variously labelled it far-left, nominally left, or a sovereignist nationalist-left vehicle. Konstantopoulou herself resists these categories, insisting the party is anti-establishment and belongs to neither the left nor the right. What unites its broad appeal is a generalized anti-corruption message and a virulent rejection of the political class, even as the party maintains a commitment to legalism and working within existing institutions. Its policy portfolio stretches from supporting refugees and the LGBT community to backing opponents of mandatory vaccination and victims of sexual violence. On European matters, the party is hard Eurosceptic: Konstantopoulou has called the EU a 'monstrous creation' devoid of democratic legitimacy and branded the euro a 'tool of enslavement and oppression.' Since 2017, the party has also promoted a 'Don't Pay' campaign of general disobedience targeting debts, taxes, and insurance contributions.

Electoral Breakthroughs and Parliamentary Representation

For several years after its 2016 founding, Course of Freedom operated primarily as a protest vehicle and street-level movement, cooperating electorally with the I Don't Pay Movement, whose leaders appeared on the party's joint ballots for the 2019 European and national elections. The formation's first genuine parliamentary breakthrough came in June 2023, when it cleared the threshold with 3.17 percent of the vote and secured eight seats in the Hellenic Parliament. That result transformed the party from a fringe protest group into a legislative actor with real institutional leverage. In the 2024 European Parliament elections, the party elected Maria Zacharia, a trade unionist and labourist, as its Member of the European Parliament. The party's parliamentary members have also taken visible stances beyond domestic politics: sitting MP Georgia Kefala joined the March to Gaza and participated in the travel to Egypt, underscoring the formation's willingness to engage in international solidarity actions. The party's ability to attract voters across the traditional ideological divide—drawing support from both left-wing and right-wing constituencies, including a segment of the far-right—has made it a persistent wildcard in Greek electoral politics.

Foreign Policy Stances and Constitutional Reform

Course of Freedom has staked out sharply defined positions on Greece's most contentious foreign-policy disputes. The party was a vocal opponent of the Prespa Agreement on North Macedonia's name, with Konstantopoulou and party members actively participating in the 2018 and 2019 mass protests under the slogan 'I'm not ceding my homeland.' The formation also demands German war reparations and loans of up to 350 billion euros, additional compensation for Nazi-era atrocities, and expansion of Greece's territorial waters to ten kilometres. On the Gaza conflict, Konstantopoulou met with the Palestinian envoy and publicly condemned attacks on health facilities, vowing that the party would serve as 'the voice' of Palestine within Greece. Domestically, the party's 2025 program called for organizing a Constitutional Convention through participatory mechanisms, with Konstantopoulou advocating a 'new Constitution of the 21st century' that would enshrine popular democracy and eliminate special privileges for political personnel. The program also includes proposals to confiscate property from bankers and politicians deemed responsible for the memoranda, shut down media outlets accused of propaganda, and replace the riot-police unit MAT with citizen-participation alternatives.