GENEVA: 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, said 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.

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.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2024