Report Launch: Repression of environmental activism
by NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark
We are celebrating the launch of the new report "Under pressure: Repression of environmental activism in Denmark 2019-2024" with a talk and panel discussion.
From England, where several activists have been sentenced to 4-5 years in prison, to Italy where a new law limiting environmental protests has been passed, to the Global South, where one environmental defender is killed every other day. Around the world, governments are tightening laws and prosecuting activists for using their basic human rights like freedom of speech and assembly. In Denmark hundreds of activists have faced or are facing prosecution from the state for their environmental activism. The report finds that the harsh repression has a 'chilling effect' on activists, and that police violence and lawsuits discourage activists from organising. Michel Forst, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, says:
"The repression that environmental activists who use peaceful civil disobedience are currently facing in Europe is a major threat to democracy and human rights. The environmental emergency that we are collectively facing, and that scientists have been documenting for decades, cannot be addressed if those raising the alarm and demanding action are criminalized for it."
On the 3rd of December we will present the findings from the research done on this topic. Come and join our conversation about the increasing criminalisation and repression of environmental activism.
There will be snacks and drinks!