Gabon

Gabon

Right	Section	Contents
Freedom of Association	History	Gabon asserted their right to association first in their 1963 Constitution, ratified May 31. The right is found in Title 1, Article 8 (“CONSTITTUTION DE LA RÉPIJBLIQIJE GABONAISE”, 1963) “CONSTITTUTION DE LA RÉPIJBLIQIJE GABONAISE.” 1963. Wix.Com. May 31. https://support.wix.com/en/article/wix-editor-staticwixstaticcommedia-appears-in-url-of-wix-images.
Freedom of Expression	History	Following independence from France, Gabon’s 1959 Constitution did not explicitly grant freedom of expression. The 2nd Republic’s 1961 Constitution drew ideas from the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and from the 1948 Universal Declaration Of the Rights of Man. It added, “Everyone has the right to the free development of his personality, within the limits of respect for the rights of others and for the public order.” Moreover, the 3rd Republic’s 1991 Constitution expanded upon this conception of the freedom of expression to include “the freedom of conscience, of thought, of opinion, of expression, of communication, the free practice of religion,” based on the 1981 African Charter of the Rights of Man and of Peoples and the 1990 National Charter of Freedoms. References: English Translation of the French Official Original Text of the Constitution of 1959, 3 (2022) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzga0042&id=3&collection=cow&index= English translation of the French original text of the Constitution of 1961, 194 (2017) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzga0032&collection=cow English Translation of the French Original Text of the Constitution of 1991, 3 (2022) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzga0054&id=3&men_tab=srchresults
Freedom of Religion	History	Gabon’s Constitution of November 14, 1960, granted its citizens the right to freedom of religion in its texts. The second point of the First Article establishes freedom of religion and conscience to all (“Constitution du 14 novembre 1960” 1960).Under the 1991 Constitution of Gabon, Articles 1.2, 1.13, and 2 grant religious freedom, equality, and prohibits religious discrimination, and Article 2 declares Gabon a secular state. “Constitution du 14 novembre 1960” 1960. Digithèque MJP https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/constit/ga1960.htm Constitution Project. “Gabon's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2011.” Constitute. POGO, April 27, 2022. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Gabon_2011.pdf?lang=en&lang=en.
Freedom of the Press	History	Article 94 of Gabon’s 1991 Constitution protects press freedom: “Audiovisual and written communication is free in the Gabonese Republic, restricted only by respect of the public order, liberty and dignity of its citizens” (Constitute Project, “Gabon's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2011” ).
Privacy Rights	History	Article 1 of the constitution lays out fundamental rights granted within the state (Constitute Project, “Gabon 1991 rev. 2011” ). Section 5 of Article 1 protects the privacy of correspondence. Section 12 claims the inviolability of the domicile. The current constitution is based on the 1961 constitution, though it was rewritten in 1991. https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Gabon_ 2011? lang=en
Voting Rights and Suffrage	History	Under Title I, Article 4, Suffrage can be direct or indirect, is universal and secret. Gabonese citizens must be at least 18 years of age to vote. (Constitute Project, “Gabon’s Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2011” ).