Is TypeWhizz Real Or Another Online Scam? Let’s InvestigateThe repression that environmental activists using peaceful civil disobedience are facing in Europe is a major threat to democracy and human rights, according to U.N. special rapporteur Michel Forst.
Events in February felt like a legal double whammy for the environment and its defenders. First, the United Nations Environment Assembly declined a Bolivian proposal to grant rights to nature and Mother Earth. Then, Michel Forst, the U.N.
Michel Forst speaks at ‘Environmental Human Rights Defenders: Responding to a Global Crisis’ in March 2017. Image by Maina Kiai via Such claims are then repeated by the mainstream media when describing young activists blocking access to a highway and calling for them to be treated and punished like terrorists, thus conveying the idea that they are criminals who should be arrested and sentenced to heavy fines and prison terms.
It is interesting to note that investigative journalists in Britain have shown that the oil lobby was behind formulating both acts. So, to fight Just Stop Oil, the oil lobby in Britain developed its own set of rules and regulations, which were then passed into law by the British Parliament. The courts, which play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law, through the use of tough pretrial detentions, severe bail conditions, lengthy procedures and harsh sentences contribute in the process of repression and criminalization of environmental defenders. In Britain, judges have banned the use of the word “climate” and “climate change” as a defense in the courtroom.