Differentiation between civil gatherings and government gatherings.

The nature of the right to collective protest, or march and gathering, as a natural right, has its roots in freedom of expression and is always a powerful political force in establishing a system in conflict and challenge. Marching is considered a serious determination and will of the people in support of an issue or protest against a social issue.

Different gatherings in the form of protests, marches, sit-ins, and the like, as long as they are peaceful and without any armed actions, have been one of the most important political activities of humanity since the beginning of civilization. It is an act aimed at conveying a message to the governing body. In other words, this movement has a civil nature. It is a tribune for civil institutions, not the government. Without a doubt, “government protests” are the most ridiculous form of populism. Protests are essentially a civil act and have been created for the purpose of expressing dissent and opinions of social groups. A government that has a tribune, has power, wealth, and weapons (like a government such as the Islamic Republic that has all the power, wealth, media, and tribunes exclusively in its hands), what need does it have for protests? What is it protesting against? Its own people? If it is protesting against global powers, it is easier to do so through

The ugliest display of government gatherings is the staged ceremonies to welcome officials on various trips. Even if people attend these welcoming ceremonies and run behind the car carrying the traveling official of their own free will, it is still an insult to their own human dignity and must be eradicated through cultural education and awareness. A modern nation considers its rulers and statesmen (from top to bottom) as its employees, not their masters and guardians.

In the commentary of Nahj al-Balagha by Ibn Abi al-Hadid, volume 7, there is a narration that the first Imam of the Shiites travels to the city of Ta’if. Upon entering the city, he sees a group of nobles along with their slaves and servants coming to greet him. Upon seeing this scene, the Imam becomes very agitated and angrily says, “Have you people abandoned your lawful occupations and livelihood to come and see me? Woe to you for turning your backs on the dignity that your Creator has bestowed upon you. Is it not by my hands that your sustenance and life are in?” He then adds, “I too am a servant of God…”

It seems that government officials should also cancel such ceremonies, which sometimes have enormous costs. I’m not saying that the president and ministers should not travel to different provinces. In fact, one of the government meetings should be held in one of the provincial centers every few months. But without the fuss and dramatic scenes. The media has expanded now. Every province has its own radio and television network. It is easy to report to the people through these media. The president and cabinet ministers can be invited to speak at universities and various centers across the country and be held accountable, asked questions. Not like sports, cultural, and artistic heroes, with welcoming ceremonies. We must know that these officials are only doing their duty and should be accountable for problems. They should always be concerned about criticism from critics so as not to make mistakes. Not that they expect people to run behind their cars and after gathering people in a stadium, with a loud voice say, “We are spending 900 billion tomans for the

Many defenders of such gatherings see them as a tool to demonstrate and strengthen the legitimacy of the system. However, these types of ceremonies are not a basis for legitimacy or acceptance of the system and its officials. Only through democracy, freedom, protection of citizens’ rights, efficiency, scientific and rational management of the country, solving various problems, and ultimately development and prosperity, can the legitimacy of the system and its authorities be strengthened. The legitimacy of any system is not strengthened by protests, welcoming ceremonies, slogans, noise, whistles, cheers, and the like. People should only honor efficient, honest, and hardworking officials at the ballot box, not in such humiliating ceremonies. As long as worthy authorities are in power, the best honor and sweetest gift to them is the vote. But when a popular official retires from political power (like Mandela), we can treat them like national heroes and honor them at every opportunity.

Freedom of societies and the quality of this freedom can be considered as one of the characteristics and components of democracy. This means that if we want to measure the level of democracy in a country, instead of counting the number of elections and the percentage of participants, we should look at the quality of freedom of assembly. In a country where its government does not hold regular assemblies or holds them less frequently, and where civil society institutions can freely use assemblies to express their protests and demands, it can be said that that country is democratic.

Freedom of assembly in the legal system of Iran

Although according to the Constitution, “holding meetings and marches, without carrying weapons, is free as long as it does not violate the principles of Islam”; this right is one of the fundamental rights of the people, recognized in Chapter Three of the Constitution under the title of “People’s Rights”, and the drafters of the Constitution, as representatives of the people, have considered themselves obligated to approve this right in order to guarantee it in Article 27 of the Constitution. However, both in this article and in the legal system of Iran, there are fundamental challenges in realizing the right to freedom of assembly in Iran. It should also be noted that although in Article 27 of the Constitution, like some other principles, the implementation of this right is not referred to ordinary law, there are no restrictions in this regard for legislation. The government can and is obliged to write regulations in this area. We mention some examples of government activities below.

The law on the activities of parties and political groups (approved in November 2016) and the regulations on ensuring the security of social gatherings and legal marches (approved on 21 November 2002) are regulations that have been established and approved regarding marches and gatherings mentioned in Article 27.

Furthermore, the “Regulations for the Activities of Parties, Associations, Political and Trade Unions, and Islamic and Religious Minorities” was approved in 1361. According to Article 30 of these regulations, requests for holding meetings must be submitted to the Ministry of Interior through the governor’s office. As stated in Article 31, this must be done one week prior to the meeting and with a written request and in-person presence of the designated representative. However, according to the footnote of this article, adhering to the specified deadline is not necessary for processions and meetings requested for unforeseen occasions, and the decision on the matter is up to the Ministry of Interior. According to Article 34, the responsible authority is obligated to submit a report on the ceremony and recordings of speeches to the Ministry of Interior.

“The regulation for ensuring the security of social gatherings and legal marches was also approved by the government in 2002. Another section of the regulations is included in this clause. According to clause 2 of article 4 of this regulation, “gatherings and assemblies within universities are exempt from the regulations of this regulation and will be subject to their own regulations.” According to clause 3 of article 4, “the commission mentioned in article 10 of the law must obtain the opinions of the head of the security council before issuing a permit for a march.” Additionally, according to clause 4 of this article, “ensuring the security of cultural and artistic gatherings will be done by the police upon the request of the organizers of said gatherings.” According to article 5, the provincial security council determines a suitable location for gatherings, which can be changed according to the proposal of the organizers and the approval of the security council. According to article 3 of the regulation, the governor must obtain a commitment

It seems that, in terms of legal aspects, there are many obstacles to achieving freedom of assembly as one of the indicators of democracy in Iran. However, there are other problems for the realization of these assemblies mentioned in the law. One of the problems is the legal procedure and the other is the challenge of the opposition system. The government essentially considers any opposition as an “enemy” and wants to engage with its opposition with a logic of war, not a legal and political logic. The recent editorial of the Javan newspaper, in which it wrote about the deprivation of BBC Persian employees, helps us understand the view of the government’s military security system about the opposition. In this editorial, it is explicitly stated that those reporters are enemies and we are at “soft war” with them, and according to the laws of war, their property is considered as booty. Therefore, in this logic, any protest gathering can be interpreted as a war in the minds of the leaders of the Islamic Republic and they

Freedom of assembly in international human rights documents

In recognized international documents and laws, freedom of assembly is mentioned as an important issue and is essentially one of the indicators of democracy and development. Below are some important points mentioned:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 20

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Articles 21 and 22

• General Comment 25 of the Human Rights Committee (Participation in Public Affairs and the Right to Vote)

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Article 8

• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: Articles 4 and 5 (Part VIII)

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Article 7

• Convention on the Rights of the Child: Article 15

• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: Article 26

• International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance: Article 24

• Contract Letter No. 87 from the International Labor Organization regarding Trade Union Freedom.

• Contract Letter 98 of the International Labor Organization

• Contract Letter Number 135 International Organization of Labor

• Declaration of Human Rights Defenders (Declaration of the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups, and Sections of Society in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Recognized Globally): Article (5)

• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: Articles 10 and 11

• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: Article 8

• American Declaration of Human Rights and Duties: Articles 21 and 22.

• American Convention on Human Rights: Articles 15 and 16

• European Convention on Human Rights: Article 11

• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: Article 12

The resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests is legally very important, and member states must be bound by it. It states: “Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and relevant international treaties on human rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and emphasizing what member states of the United Nations have committed to in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to promote global respect and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without any discrimination based on race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status, recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 12/16 of 2 October 2009 and 16/4 of 24 March 2011 on the freedom of opinion and expression, 15/21 of 30 September 2010 on the rights

With regard to the multitude of legally binding documents in safeguarding the freedom of assembly, it is no longer acceptable in international law for a government to suppress peaceful demonstrations of its people. In Iran, it is necessary to inform the public about this important and influential right, as without the freedom of assembly and its institutionalization, true democracy cannot be established. A government only remains committed to democratic principles when it has a dynamic civil society that monitors all actions and activities of the government and protests against any misconduct.

Notes:

• Shokuri Rad, Ali, according to Article 27 of the Constitution, does not need a permit for gathering and marching, Jares, February 10, 2011.

• Amjadiyan, Hassan, An Analysis of Article 27 of the Constitution, Andisheh va Qalam Blog, 27 December 2016.

• The right to form associations is derived from the horizon of human rights, Aftab Online, August 10, 2009.

• Freedom of societies and marches in the constitution, derived blog, July 9th, 2011.

• The rights to peaceful assembly and association, the website of the United Nations Human Rights Council.