Last Thursday, a series of human rights experts raised their concerns about the methods being utilised by European authorities to stifle climate activists. The methods include mass arrests, imposition of longer sentences, and legislation aimed at curtailing the right to protests.
Multiple crackdowns on protest groups have been issued in a number of European countries such as Germany, France and Italy. These include granting additional power to police forces for managing large-scale protests and mass disruption. Dunja Mijatovic, the Commissioner for Human Rights, asserted that public authorities must not have “unlimited discretion” to wield force and all restrictions ought to be defined by law without encroaching on the rights of protesters.
Similar concerns were voiced by AmnestyUK and MP Alison Thewliss, who stated that human rights are being undermined by these harsh government measures.
The UK government has been particularly stringent in their dealings with climate activists. The Public Order Act 2023 is said to restrict the right to protest and has criminalised many forms of protest, one example being “interference with national infrastructure” such as airports and HS2. This legislation was justified by the government citing disruptions caused by groups like XR, JustStopOil and Insulate Britain. However, Volker Turk, the UN Human Rights Chief, expressed that the Act “weakens human rights obligations” as it infringes upon individual rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, which stand in conflict with the UK’s international human rights obligations.
In addition to this, the UK government has been inflicting longer sentences on activists, as evidenced by the case of activist duo Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland (members of JustStopOil) who were arrested and received sentences lasting 2-3 years for causing public nuisance. Reflecting on these developments, Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur, highlighted the imperative need of safeguarding environmental defenders from threats, intimidation and retaliations, referencing ‘The Strasbourg Principles’ which reinforce the rights of individuals to protect the environment.