Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights, launching next Monday.

Posted: 12th March 2021

Groups are being asked to endorse NetPol’s new Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights, launching next Monday.
The full information blah is below. The charter is attached. 

The government has just announced plans for a new crackdown on the freedom to protest. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, announced 10 March, contains sweeping new powers to “tackle non-violent protests that have a significant disruptive effect” and gives the Police new powers to disperse and place conditions on protests.

This poses a huge threat to all our rights, and we’re writing to your group to ask for your support in challenging this.

We oppose this new planned legislation and instead demand the National Police Chiefs Council endorses a new, eleven-point Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights – or explain why they refuse to do so. We’ve launched an urgent petition about this issue on 38degrees, here.

To challenge this legislation, Netpol’s Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights (attached) calls on the National Police Chiefs Council (the national body for Chief Constables) to accept greater transparency and accountability for the way protests are policed, based on international human rights standards. 

If you want to support this work, we’d love it if your group could: 

• Endorse the Charter as it launches. We’d love to list your organisation as supporting this work on our website and in media. If you’re willing, please could you confirm this via email and provide a hi-res copy of your logo to use in comms. 
• Give a boost to the petition, and the Charter as it launches on social media. Let us know if you could share Netpol’s posts + tweets on Monday 15 March, and post about it yourself. We will be on #FreedomToProtest 

A copy of the full Charter is attached. This will go live on the web on Monday 15 March at Netpol.org/Charter. 

The petition, which has already launched on 38Degrees, is here. PROTECT YOUR FREEDOM TO PROTEST | 38 Degrees