Freedom of association is constitutionally guaranteed and upheld in practice. A wide array of CSOs exist, including co-operatives, informal grassroots groups, social services provider organisations and advocacy CSOs dealing with democratic governance issues. The freedoms to unionise, collectively bargain and strike are legally guaranteed and mostly respected, and trade unions are quite influential.Uruguay is the only country in the region that the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) describes as enduring only ‘sporadic’ violations of trade union rights. No legal restrictions exist for the foreign funding of CSOs. Activism is a safe endeavour in modern-day Uruguay. While human rights CSOs and INGOs have repeatedly denounced inconsistent treatment of past human rights violations resulting in impunity for crimes committed during the 1973-1985 dictatorship, concerns about present human rights violations are limited in scope. 

The freedom of peaceful assembly is constitutionally guaranteed and typically respected. Organisers of demonstrations must secure authorisation from the Interior Minister, but permission is seldom arbitrarily denied. However, recent legislation that would allow the police to intervene without any judicial authorisation to clear streets and roads of obstructions have been criticised by CSOs and the national human rights institution.

Constitutional guarantees of free expression are normally respected in Uruguay. Attempts to censor material are extremely uncommon and criminal penalties for the defamation of public officials were eliminated in 2009, although other forms of defamation remain criminal offences. There are recent reports of public servants taking legal action against journalists or media outlets. Even though progress on the investigation of crimes against journalists under the dictatorship is slow, there is currently no physical risk for reporters. There are no restrictions on Internet access or online content. The press is diverse and privately owned, while the broadcast sector includes both private and state-owned stations. The Media Law, passed after major civil society debate in December 2014, is still lacking proper implementation. An Access to Information Law based on a civil society initiative was passed in 2008. A recent report, however, shows that compliance is still unsatisfactory, particularly regarding the justification of information classification and the implementation of active transparency requirements.