Space Industry and Business News
FROTH AND BUBBLE
Climate protesters under fire in Europe: UN expert
Climate protesters under fire in Europe: UN expert
By Nina LARSON
Geneva (AFP) Mar 16, 2024

Environmental activists are increasingly facing hostility across Europe, a UN expert said, warning that the very right to protest was "at risk" in countries usually considered beacons of democracy.

Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, told AFP in an interview this week that he was deeply troubled by the hardening tone against climate activists in countries including France, Austria, Germany and Britain.

Government ministers have been throwing about terms like "eco terrorists" and "Green Talibans" to describe non-violent activists, he claimed, also blaming some media reporting for contributing to an increasingly hostile public attitude.

"It creates a sort of chilling effect," warned Forst, an independent expert appointed under the UN's Aarhus Convention -- a legally-binding text that provides for justice in environmental matters.

"Currently, the right to protest is at risk in Europe."

Forst said he had recently visited several European countries after receiving complaints that activists faced treatment that allegedly violated the convention and international human rights law.

Following a visit to Britain, he publicly voiced alarm at the "toxic discourse" and "increasingly severe crackdown" on environmental defenders.

- 'Regressive laws' -

Forst charged that "regressive laws" in Britain were being used to slap climate activists with harsh penalties, with one activist sent to prison for six months for a 30-minute slow march disrupting traffic.

Another activist had been sentenced to 27 months behind bars in the UK, he said.

He also decried harsh sentences in other countries, including Germany.

Forst travelled to France last month following complaints about a crackdown on a drawn-out anti-motorway protest near the southwestern city of Toulouse.

Activists, called "squirrels", who have been squatting in trees destined to be chopped down to make way for the A69 motorway, have accused law enforcement of denying them access to food and water and using floodlights to deprive them of sleep.

Forst said he had been blocked from bringing food to the activists, and was "shocked" by what he found.

"Obviously, deprivation of food, of drinking water, of sleep is clearly against international law," said Forst, a French national.

They are "considered acts of torture in international texts", he added.

- 'Dangerous' -

Forst said that European media coverage often focuses exclusively on the drama around demonstrations and not on the climate crisis prompting the protests.

The world is in a very "dangerous time", he said, but the general public often do not understand why young people are "blocking access to airports, or gluing their hands on the floor".

As a result, states have felt justified in developing new policies and laws, paving the way for police crackdowns, and increasingly harsh sentences.

In Britain, he said that some judges were even barring environmental defenders from using the word "climate" to explain their motivation to the jury.

Forst said that he was investigating whether big companies, especially in the oil and energy sector, might be lobbying to increase the pressure on climate activists.

"The most dangerous" companies were even "using security forces, connections with the mafia... to target and sometimes to kill defenders," he said.

Forst said he was currently organising consultations in Latin America and Africa with environmental activists there who are facing attacks by companies.

He is also investigating whether companies based in Europe are, through local subsidiaries, contributing to attacks on activists.

And the expert blasted European countries for "a double standard" by supporting environmental defenders in other parts of the world but "not protecting their defenders inside Europe".

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
FROTH AND BUBBLE
Mexico City flights canceled as volcano spews ash
Mexico City (AFP) Feb 28, 2024
Ash spewing from the Popocatepetl volcano outside Mexico City on Tuesday led some airlines to cancel around two dozen flights in and out of the Latin American capital, authorities said. The Mexico City International Airport said on social media that national and international operators have canceled 22 flights "due to airplane safety checks having found ashes." The airport's arrivals and departures log, seen by AFP, showed cancellations and delays, though the causes weren't listed. Authoriti ... read more

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Kobe breakthrough offers blueprint for enhanced photon up-conversion materials

Unconventional Superconductor Found in Natural Mineral, Miassite, Enhances Future of Technology

The hunt for superheavy elements is a periodic opportunity

European plastics industry 'in trouble' as market share falls

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Multi-orbit SATCOM solution by Hughes selected for AFRL's DEUCSI initiative

Luxembourg DoD Partners with SES and HITEC to Augment SATCOM Ground Infrastructure

Fleet Space and SmartSat Unlock Next-Gen Voice Capabilities

In letter to SpaceX, lawmakers express concern over possible Russian use of Starlink

FROTH AND BUBBLE
FROTH AND BUBBLE
GPS war: Israel's battle to keep drones flying and enemies baffled

ESA Invests E12 Million in Revolutionary Galileo Satellite Clock Technology

False GPS signal surge makes life hard for pilots

Galileo, now fit for aviation

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Karman Space and Defense Spearheads Subsystem Development for NASA's X-59 Supersonic Quest

Boeing agrees to $51 mn settlement for export violations

NASA awards grants to 5 universities for quiet supersonic overflight education plans

No need for climate 'flight shame', Swedish govt says

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Penning traps propel quantum computing into new realm

Nvidia expects no 'doomsday' in US vs China tensions

From Theory to Practice: Revolutionizing 2D Material Synthesis

AI giant Nvidia unveils higher performing 'superchips'

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Airbus, DLR and NASA forge ahead with GRACE-C Earth observation mission

Enhanced Collaboration on Cloud and Aerosol Research to Address Climate Crisis

Stratospheric events unlock Northern Europe weather forecasting advances

ISRO's INSAT-3DS Satellite Successfully Commences Earth Observation Operations

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Thai PM vows to curb air pollution in tourist hotspot Chiang Mai

Climate protesters under fire in Europe: UN expert

'I need to fight': UK steelworkers in fear as less pollution means less jobs

Mexico City flights canceled as volcano spews ash

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.