BRUSSELS — The United Nations on Wednesday warned of a “stark increase in repression” against climate activists in Europe, critizing the crackdown as undemocratic.
“The repression that environmental activists who use peaceful civil disobedience are currently facing in Europe is a major threat to democracy and human rights,” Michel Forst, the U.N. special rapporteur for environmental defenders, said in a report published Wednesday.
a report published Wednesday
Forst paints a bleak picture of the situation in Europe, citing reports of police abuse in France, Spain, the U.K. and Germany as well as Denmark’s decision to put climate activists on its list of terrorist threats, among other examples.
European countries’ response to civil disobedience by green activists has created “a climate of fear and intimidation for environmental defenders” and has a “dangerous chilling effect” on people’s ability to exercise their fundamental rights, he said.
