By Abbas Nazil
A United Nations expert has raised alarm over a growing global crackdown on climate defenders, accusing major governments of hypocrisy for criminalizing environmental activism while professing commitment to climate goals.
Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, said climate activists across the world face increasing repression, including police violence, surveillance, and unfair prosecutions.
She noted that countries like the UK, US, France, and Germany, which publicly advocate for human rights and climate action, are among those most frequently repressing peaceful climate protests.
Lawlor’s forthcoming report to the UN General Assembly, titled “Tipping Points: Human Rights Defenders, Climate Change and a Just Transition,” documents hundreds of cases where governments have targeted activists using harsh laws, smear campaigns, and “strategic lawsuits against public participation.”
In the UK, she cited the jailing of Stephen Gingell, a member of Just Stop Oil, under the country’s new public order law after a brief non-violent protest.
In the United States, over 1,000 cases were brought against protesters opposing the Line 3 oil pipeline, with many charged under anti-terror and critical infrastructure laws.
Lawlor said this pattern reflects a “blueprint of repression,” also seen in France, where the environmental group Les Soulèvements de la Terre was wrongfully branded as “eco-terrorist.”
She warned that the same tactics are being used in the transition to green energy, where governments and corporations are repressing Indigenous communities and environmental lawyers challenging land grabs and pollution.
Citing cases in Vietnam and Kenya, Lawlor stressed that activists seeking a just transition are being treated as criminals rather than partners in climate solutions.
She urged governments to stop silencing those protecting the environment and instead collaborate with them to avert climate catastrophe, warning that the current path represents “a road to destruction.”
Lawlor concluded that no government or corporation should prioritize profit over the human right to a safe, healthy environment.