Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.

Voluntary and open membership without discrimination to persons willing to accept the responsibilities of membership is a core principle and has been from the beginning of the co-operative movement in the first half of the 19th century. The statement that: "Co-operatives are voluntary organisations" reaffirms the importance of people choosing voluntarily to participate in and make a commitment to their co-operative. People cannot be made to be co-operators. It is a voluntary act to join and to be involved with others to achieve shared economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations.

The importance of voluntary and open membership is shown by the global co-operative movement's accepting this as the 1st Co-operative Principle in the Alliance's first formulation of the Co-operative Principles in Paris in 1937. It was reaffirmed in the re-statement of the Principles in Vienna in 1966 and again when the Principles were re-formulated and elaborated by the Alliance at the third review in Manchester in 1995.

This first Principle is an expression of the right to freedom of association. This right of free association, namely to join or not to join with others to pursue common goals, is one of the fundamental rights in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the 1966 United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights*. The 1st Principle asserts the right of any person to exercise free choice in deciding to join or leave a co-operative and take collective action to pursue the common economic, social and cultural interests of its members.

Inclusiveness and the prohibition of discrimination is in the tradition of the founders of the co-operative movement. In the 1840s the Rochdale Pioneers were socially progressive and radically ahead of their time in admitting women and all classes of society, irrespective of political persuasion or religious beliefs, as equal members of their co-operative.

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* Article 22 of the United Nations 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is legally binding in international law, states that:

"1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."