MADLANGA J Sigurjónsson63 and Chassagnou64 on that Article particularly offer useful guidance on interpreting section 18. I can conceive of no cogent reason why we too should not come to the conclusion that section 18, in fact, protects the negative right not to be compelled to associate.65 We do not have the apparent hurdle of the travaux préparatoires that appears to have informed the circumspect approach of the ECHR in Young. If the ECHR could reach the conclusion that it did notwithstanding that evidentiary material which seemed to point in the opposite direction, it follows more strongly that we too must come to the same conclusion. On the other hand, paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the African Charter specifically provides that “no one may be compelled to join an association”.66 Does that mean the decision of the ACHPR in Tanganyika Law Society does not assist us? Of course, it does assist. When the Court says “freedom of association is negated if an individual is forced to associate with others”, that means exactly that. When the Court says “[f]reedom of association is also negated if other people are forced to join up with the individual”, that too means exactly that. You associate or do not associate as you wish. It is a free exercise of choice. It makes sense that that must be so either way. Crucially, the ACHPR said “freedom of association implies freedom to associate and freedom not to associate”. (Emphasis added.) In context, this is plainly an implication the ACHPR sees from the notion of “freedom of association” without recourse to paragraph 2 of Article 10. It seems to me – perhaps with the benefit of hindsight provided by the ECHR interpretation – that paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the African Charter and the equivalent paragraph 2 of Article 20 of the UDHR specifically proscribe coerced association ex 63 Sigurjónsson above n 46. 64 Chassagnou above n 54. 65 I am not unmindful of the ECHR’s unique reliance on what individual states had done post Young. 66 This is comparable to paragraph 2 of Article 20 of the UDHR. Article 20 provides: “(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.” 21