UN Advisor 'Distressed' by UK Crackdown on Environmental Protesters

Facts

• Michel Forst, the UN’s special rapporteur on environmental defenders, released a two-page statement Tuesday claiming that UK politicians are unfairly cracking down on environmental protesters, putting them at risk of ‘threats, abuse, and even physical attacks.'¹
• Forst visited the UK from Jan. 10–2 to meet with government officials and environmental activists — including nongovernmental organizations, climate protesters, and lawyers. He said he received ‘extremely worrying information’ about ‘severe crackdowns on environmental defenders’ in the UK that infringed on their right to peacefully protest.²
• He added that politicians have been using the new Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act 2022 to prosecute protesters for ‘public nuisance’ — a criminal offense carrying up to 10 years imprisonment. He also said that the Public Order Act 2023 is being used to stymie protest.²
• Last month, authorities used the Public Order Act 2023 to sentence a protester from the Just Stop Oil activist group to a six-month prison term for his role in a protest that blocked a public road. Groups such as Just Stop Oil have engaged in several disruptive demonstrations at high-profile events such as major sporting events and musical performances.³
• Forst added that some protesters have been forced to wear electronic ankle tags while others have been subject to a 10 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew and geolocation tracking. Currently, defendants charged with a crime may be on bail for up to two years after their arrest and before their criminal trial.⁴
• The UN rapporteur went on to condemn politicians for their “toxic discourse” that has a “chilling effect” on the “exercise of fundamental freedoms.”⁴

Sources: ¹POLITICO, ²UNECE, ³CNN and ⁴The Guardian.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Independent. The UK’s conservative government has been infringing on the basic right to peaceful protest, and thankfully, the UN is calling out this undemocratic behavior. Using government force and passing laws to criminalize protests is always wrong, but this situation is even worse because it stops activists from speaking about the climate crisis. Climate defenders are heroes fighting on behalf of the entire world, yet UK conservatives are denying their basic human rights for political reasons. Environmental protesters are modern stewards of civil rights movements of the past, and they should be protected instead of being prosecuted.
• Right narrative, as provided by GB News. Unhinged protests from groups such as Just Stop Oil have erupted throughout the UK, and hard-working Brits have had enough of these entitled demonstrators disrupting their way of life. While left-wing elites may try to paint these radical and polarizing demonstrations as ‘peaceful,’ that is not the case. These protesters instigate and clash with ordinary citizens and police and do all they can to ruin public events. We have even seen fed-up people take justice into their own hands just to stop this nuisance. The UK allows and promotes peaceful protests, but these climate extremists are just making life worse for the public.

Predictions