Despite growing awareness of the role of extractive industries in the climate crisis, the public’s right to speak out and challenge corporations harming people and the planet is increasingly under threat.

Environmental defenders around the world are routinely threatened or killed. Times like these call for solidarity and action to protect not only their lives, but the ability of their organizations to continue to do their work.

A dangerous and growing tactic to silence and intimidate activists – especially those focused on corporate malfeasance – is the SLAPP suit, or “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.”

In a SLAPP suit, an individual or organization is targeted with costly and lengthy civil claims in order to inhibit our ability to speak out about injustice. The suits are framed as accusations of defamation or racketeering, but their true purpose is to quell dissent and silence activists and journalists who are digging into corporate wrongdoing.

To combat this, we joined other social justice, human rights, and environmental NGOs who formed a task force called Protect the Protest in 2017 – because an attack on the rights of one is an attack on the rights of all.