1. Enhancing the sustainability of protest movements
5 October 2016

2. Overarching finding:
As a result of national legal and extra-legal restrictions on the right to protest, support and solidarity from international stakeholders, including other national protest movements, foreign governments, UN bodies and INGOs, which are presently inadequate, is imperative to enhancing the sustainability of national protest movements.

3. Finding 1: Structural conditions
Irrespective of regime type, governments are failing to facilitate the right to peaceful assembly and imposing a range of legal and extra-legal restrictions on protest movements.

4. Arbitrary arrest of protesters
Finding 2: Structural issues which undermine the sustainability of protest movements: .
Ranking
Issue 1
Excessive use of force 2
Arbitrary arrest of protesters 3
Legal restrictions on freedom of assembly 4
Government rhetoric critical of the protest movement 5
Restrictions on protest monitors and journalists 6
Infiltration of the movement by members of the government

5. Finding 3: External factors contributing to the sustainability of the protest movement
International support, from INGOs, UN bodies, foreign states was not at all harmful to the movement.
Support from UN bodies is statistically important in supporting protest movements in each country.
INGOs, UN bodies and foreign governments did not show adequate support and solidarity in supporting the movements.

6. Findings 4: What we can do
Support the removal or easing of restrictions on national CSOs.
Support the removal or easing of legal and extra-legal restrictions on the right to freedom of assembly.
Provide capacity development resources, specifically the provision of strategic planning.