The Enjoyment of the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association to Advance Climate Justice – The Case of the UK

Climate justice activism and protest, including various forms of civil disobedience, are very much on the agenda worldwide. But due to a great diversity of political and human rights cultures, frameworks of civil liberties, freedoms, as well as policing and justice models in relation to protests vary enormously.

In the UK, there has been an acceleration and expansion of climate activism, and of civil disobedience, notably illustrated by the activities of Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Fridays for Future. The British government’s “Public Attitudes Tracker” has shown a steady increase in concern over climate change since 2015, with an even more rapid increase since 2018. The most visible protests have been school climate strikes and a wide range of activities convened by XR, which have involved highly publicised acts of civil disobedience. In February 2019, approximately 15,000 attended a strike in Bristol, organised by Fridays for Future. Overall, this activism of the young and school children is centred on intergenerational solidarity or, in other words, on sustainability and thinking about the future of coming generations.

In April 2019, Waterloo Bridge, one of the main crossings linking the south and north banks of the Thames in London, was blocked by protesters convened by XR. In the days that followed, thousands were involved in a ten-day blockade of strategic sites in the English capital. There were immediate calls on tough action and new legislation to control these civil disobedience actions, coming from conservative sections of society and politics. Since then, it is estimated that over 3,500 people participating in this and other civil disobedience actions have been arrested for minor offences and sentenced with paying fines and costs. Some 1,000 cases are still awaiting court decisions and civil rights groups are pressuring government and public authorities to stop prosecuting people for their peaceful civil disobedience. In September 2020, over 680 people were arrested in London related to XR-organised civil disobedience protests.

The pandemic has unquestionably limited climate activism, but actions have continued and in the case of XR, protest has centred on a new Policing Bill, the so-called Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSCB). On 3 April 2021, a protest was jointly convened with United for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter under the slogan “Kill the Bill”.

The PCSCB was elaborated by the British government and gives considerable new powers to the police in relation to the control and policing of demonstrations. One of the concerns raised by the bill’s opponents is that the text places an offence of intentionally causing “public nuisance” in law, with a maximum sentence of 10 years for actions which could include non-violently obstructing the public. The bill is also seen as using vague terms, left open to interpretation by the police. The latter is also given new powers against static protests and granted the ability to impose allocated times and where gatherings can be held. Overall, this bill is perceived by many as a risk of breaching protesters’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the requirement for legal certainty.

Adding to those concerns, the bill was rushed through the British Parliament in March 2021 and voted on favourably only by the Conservative Party, which has an absolute majority in the House of Commons. On the other side of the spectrum, it has received an avalanche of criticisms by environmental and climate action movements, as well as human rights and civil liberties organisations in the UK.

The forces opposing the PCSCB all argue that the main threat to peaceful assembly and related freedoms today in the UK arises from this bill. The new law, considered anti-democratic, is seen as an immediate menace to basic civil liberties and civil disobedience strategies, as well as a severe limitation and challenge to climate change activism.

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This paper is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content of the paper nor the opinions expressed by its author.

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