This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the role of freedom of association in contributing to broadly defined development outcomes.
It examines international legal frameworks, empirical evidence, and thematic areas including employment, governance, gender rights, and public service delivery, highlighting how freedom of association underpins social inclusion, fair labour practices, and effective governance. The RER opens the discussion by defining freedom of association and the international agreements that uphold and promote this right. Freedom of association is the right of workers and employers to form and join organisations of their choice without fear of reprisal or interference.
It includes the right to collective bargaining and is universally recognised across various international instruments such as the ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenants on Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This right applies to all workers, including those in the informal economy, and extends to the right to disassociate from organisations as well.