Notes on the Freedom of Assembly and Demonstration in the Constitutions of Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda

The freedom of assembly and demonstration are among the fundamental human rights; hence, people around the globe have these rights protected in their constitutions. However, these basic rights are infringed, in some way or other, by the governments. Evidences extracted from world democracy and freedom index has shown ranges of low scale in the target countries. Somalia is the lowest among those compared showing the existence of heavy challenge against variants of human freedom, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the rule of law. This desk study aims to identify the constitutional provisions that describe the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration in Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda; and determine the extent to which the respective government practically carries out these legal provisions. These countries have witnessed political unrest and devastated civil war in their contemporary history; therefore, these rights are necessary to achieve political stability in these countries.