Today the UK wakes up to a new government, and an opportunity to renew leadership for human rights, not against them.
In the run-up to the election, we set out key priorities for freedom of expression for the new government, including safeguarding media freedom and the safety and protection of journalists, defending privacy, and improving effective regulation of digital markets.
And, since today is a day for making noise – whether singing from the rooftops, shouting out in anger and frustration, or heaving a big sigh of disbelief or cynical fear – we are turning our attention to one priority in particular: protecting the right to protest.
As the UN Human Rights Council considers a new resolution on the right to freedom of assembly and association at its 56th session, governments in the UK (and across Europe) are narrowing the space for protest and public resistance. Whether it is the climate emergency, the cost of living crisis, or solidarity with Palestine, protesters have met harsh crackdowns in this country.
In the UK, climate activists celebrated a landmark ruling when the Supreme Court quashed the oil well plan near Gatwick Airport in June. And yet environmental activists in the country face enormous hostility.
Approximately 120 climate activists have been imprisoned in the UK to date, with Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland receiving the longest sentences in the country’s modern history – 2 years and 7 months’ imprisonment. The UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders Michel Forst has highlighted his concerns about the harassment of environmental activists in the UK. This harassment must stop.
Additionally, the UK employs civil injunctions to ban protests in certain areas, including major roads and highways. Breaching these injunctions can result in up to 2 years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
In April 2024, the Serious Disruption Prevention Orders came into force, empowering law enforcement to intervene before a protest takes place to prevent individuals ‘from being in a particular place or area’ and ‘being with protest groups at given times’, in clear violation of the right to association.
This builds on the 2023 Public Order Act, which introduces new protest offences including locking on and causing ‘serious disruption’.
And the right to make our voices heard is all the more vital as our societies become increasingly polarised. Members of the far-right Reform Party have launched verbal assaults on Black, minority, and LGBTQ+ communities and their rights, denigrated refugees and asylum seekers, and pushed back on the principle of equality for all.
Today represents an opportunity for the UK to recalibrate its commitment to uphold the right to protest and to speak. We hope the Labour government can deliver this – though we know the work to defend these rights is far from over. Labour’s manifesto speaks of ‘upholding democracy’ and ‘greater collaboration and respect across the country’, but it does not specifically draw on the power of freedom of expression or protest.
As freedom of speech advocates who cherish the power of protest, we must continue to call for the robust guarantee for our right to protest. This right is a cornerstone of democracy.
Now is the time for people in the UK to demand the new government reverse restrictive laws, and to call for them to honour and respect protesters, not vilify and stigmatise them.
