"CRI climate Protesters Report: On Thin Ice" September 2024

The imposition of penalties disproportionate to any harm caused has a chilling effect on basic rights and is incompatible with states’ obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which all of the countries cited in this report are parties...

Yet, some democratic countries are even taking measures designed to stop peaceful climate protests before they start...

In Germany and France, authorities have gone even further to prevent protests, through blanket bans on protests in certain areas and even attempts to disband or criminalize certain climate advocacy groups and the actions of their members...

People around the world are increasingly engaging in various forms of protest and awareness raising as climate change unleashes an avalanche of devastating consequences...

This is especially true for younger people, who are growing up in a world of uncertainty, facing the consequences of decisions that threaten their right to a future...

But as Mary Lawlor, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, makes clear in her report from January 17, 2024, young activists face additional obstacles when they seek to make their voices heard. Lawlor identified intimidation and harassment in online spaces and the media, lack of adequate support from traditional allies, academic sanctions, and legal, administrative, and practical barriers to participation in civic space as just some of the hurdles faced by child and youth activists...

Governments should welcome peaceful protests as the sign of an engaged citizenry. Those who engage in peaceful protest should, at a minimum, be assured that their rights will be respected...