Racines’ Index is an international instrument for measuring and evaluating freedom of association and peaceful assembly. It will rank countries according to their level of compliance with article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association”.
The Racines Index is ranked every two years. It complements the ongoing monitoring work carried out by the Observatory of the Rights of Assembly and Association (ORAA 20), set up by the Racines association. The Racines Index is calculated on the basis of criteria and indicators measuring the level of involvement of states in the respect, application and protection of the rights of association and peaceful assembly.
Racines’ Index aims to encourage the States to better respect, apply and protect the rights of peaceful assembly and association. Although a number of international conventions and treaties mention civil society as a stakeholder in the construction of democracy, there has been no international instrument for measuring States’ respect for these two fundamental freedoms.
We believe that this is a useful tool for countries, international organisations (UN, UNESCO, EU, etc.), the media and civil society to assess the level of respect for these two fundamental freedoms in each State. The aim of the Racines Index is to produce, every two years, a global ranking of respect for article 20 around the world. The Index measures the freedoms of association and peaceful assembly as a legal entity, without distinction as to the causes defended or the issues addressed.