Amnesty International welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, on the theme of stigmatizing narratives and implications on the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. In recent years, authorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have framed and sustained harmful and stigmatizing narratives against peaceful protesters, with the intention of silencing critical voices and movements, justifying repression, and evading accountability. The submission below highlights some of Amnesty International’s concerns on stigmatizing and harmful narratives against peaceful protesters in South Asia.
