A United Nations expert has said that environmental activists in Europe are facing increasing hostility, warning that the fundamental right to protest is at risk in nations usually showcased as democratic.

The UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, Michel Forst, declared in an interview with AFP that he is gravely concerned by the growing hostility towards climate activists in nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Austria, and Germany.

“It creates a sort of chilling effect,” Forst expressed, “Currently, the right to protest is at risk in Europe.”

Forst revealed that he had recently traveled to multiple European nations due to reports of activists being treated in ways that supposedly breach the Aarhus Convention, a legally binding text that provides for justice in environmental matters, and international human rights law.

Ministers and European media

Following his trip to the United Kingdom, Forst publicly communicated concern about the “toxic discourse” and the “escalating crackdown” on environmental advocates.

In his statement, he claimed that government ministers have been using phrases such as “eco-terrorists” and “Green Taliban” to describe peaceful activists.

He added that in the UK, certain judges were going to extremes like preventing environmental activists from using the term “climate” when showcasing their reasons to the jury.

Forst linked the growing bitterness in public sentiment to certain media coverage, then further blamed European media for sensationalizing news, as it often focuses primarily on what is happening in the demonstrations, while shadowing the trigger behind the protests which is the climate crisis. 

He also condemned European nations for their hypocrisy in engaging with environmental advocates globally while disregarding the protection of their activists within Europe.

Backward laws, violations, and lobbying 

Forst said that in Britain, “regressive laws” were being implemented to set extreme penalties on climate activists, with one activist sentenced to six months in prison for a 30-minute slow march that disturbed traffic.

He added that another activist had been sentenced to 27 months in a UK prison, and denounced severe sentences in other countries, including Germany.

Forst went to southwest France last month, following complaints about a crackdown on a long-lasting anti-motorway protest near Toulouse. The “squirrels” activists taking up the trees set for cutting down to make way for the A69 motorway have claimed that authorities are not giving them access to food and water, and disrupting their sleep with bright lights.

As Forst expressed being "shocked", as he was not even permitted to bring meals for the activists, he emphasized, “Obviously, deprivation of food, of drinking water, of sleep is clearly against international law."

They are “considered acts of torture in international texts”, he said.

Forst said that he was investigating the potential of major corporations. specifically the oil and energy industry's involvement in lobbying efforts to enhance the surveillance of the climate activists, adding that “The most dangerous” companies were even “using security forces, connections with the mafia... to target and sometimes to kill defenders."