“The environmental emergency that we are collectively facing, and that scientists have been documenting for decades, cannot be addressed if those raising the alarm and demanding action are criminalized for it,” says Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention.
The position paper concludes with five calls for action to States on how to make a profound change in how they respond to environmental protest:
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First and foremost: States must address the root causes of environmental mobilization.
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In terms of the media and political discourse: States must take immediate action to counter narratives that portray environmental defenders and their movements as criminals.
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In terms of legislation and policy: States must not use the increase of environmental civil disobedience as a pretext to restrict the civic space and the exercise of fundamental freedoms.
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In terms of law enforcement: States must comply with their international obligations related to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in their response to environmental protest and civil disobedience and immediately cease the use of measures designed for counterterrorism and organized crime against environmental defenders.
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And with respect to the courts: States must ensure that the courts’ approach to disruptive protest, including any sentences imposed, does not contribute to the restriction of the civic space.
The paper can be downloaded on English (pdf) and French (pdf).
Civility politics belong in the wastebin of history. Civility politics is EXACTLY how you get American Liberals crying about decorum and only ever pointing at how bad conservarives are.
We DON’T CARE!! Get good things done and stop whining that bad people exist, ffs. The bad people want the bad things to happen, so stop listening to the excuses.
nobody is going to take you seriously if you throw food at the Mona Lisa. it makes you look ridicules and there in almost guaranteeing nothing will get done. Civility just means don’t act like a crazy person nobody is going to listen to a crazy person.
Most of our rights come from uprising and unrest. Nothing really civil about that.
because in the times that actually happened there was no other way. that’s kind of the whole reason democracy exists that you don’t do it that way. Civility has nothing to do with being polite it has to do with controlling your emotions and to not act like children and to use your words like a grown ass person. because saying uprisings and unrest and revolution is easy until your in it.
“using your words” only means something if your words bear impact. To the governments the words of people amd companies profiting off of fossile fuels bear weight because they control a lot of value and employment. They can threaten damage while staying “civil”. People that do not have that kind of impact in their words can lend their words impact by becoming less “civil”.
seems like excuse for violence too me. and how people talk now it has impact but crazy people lessen that impact.
seems like excuse for violence too me
Just because some form of argument can be used to try and justify violence does not mean it is a bad argument.
and how people talk now it has impact
It does, but it doesn’t seem to be enough.
but crazy people lessen that impact.
This has been thrown around as some kind of fact for a long time, especially with the protests of the “Letzte Generation” in germany, a specifically non-violent protest group, that blockaded highways. I have never seen convincing data that this protest has affected the populations position on climate policy. There was broad disagreement with their form of protest and the two get mixed up in discussions a lot.
doing more extreme protests only work if you are a respected group like lets say farmers even they don’t use violence. if you do more extreme protests when you are not respected at all and have not built up that respect doing extreme protests will only undermine you. and definitely if you look like a spoiled brat having a tether tantrum and then take the whole not having respect to begin with thing that is what kills a movement. that is why i very dislike groups like stop oil they undermine there own cause. and make it worse for everybody wanting to do more serious work.
First, “crazy” is a lazy word used by lazy people to avoid digesting a new idea. Its just used to describe anything that deviates from one person’s subjective idea of “normal”, another word with very little meaning outside of social conformity.
“Crazy people” has been used to describe women, gays, slaves, unionizers, and everyone else who saw the flaws in their times and tried to change them. So firstly, gosh, how lazy is your writing?
Reading your points. You have a major disconnect.
You see protestors as violent, and I don’t disagree.
But corporations giving a generation rising waves of colon cancer via pollution, “spilling” oil and making parts of the planet uninhabitable for years at best, generations at worst.
Is this violence?
Capturing the housing supply via unlimited money supply causing rising homelessness.
Is this violence?
Making healthcare so unaffordable that people die in their homes over going to a doctor and losing their life savings attempting to treat their condition.
Is this violence?
^ Trick question, there is no violence, that’s just business! Any action besides “pls stop mister corpo” sends you to prison.
What a world you live in where corpos have more rights than humans… and you frame that as a good thing?
You have a double standard and are unable to see that both are acts of violence. One indirect, the other direct. We’ll give corpos a bone here and not even factor-in the number of people impacted by each act of violence to determine its severity…
You haven’t put 2 and 2 together and noticed that all of your opinions are pro-corpo-violence?
I can’t help you. I assume intentional ignorance, shill, bot, or family member of some corpo-murderer.
Hey everyone, according to this person, we just need to ask nicely and the corpos will stop.
oh no does the word crazy offend you? if it does that’s your problem not mine its simple to understand and everybody knows what it means that’s why i use it and will keep using it. and has nothing to do with avoiding digesting a new idea that is your fantasy it has to do with getting to fucking point quicker. if you want to do that thing where you make this big deal about what the definition of crazy and normal is you can but i don’t really give a fuck its a distraction and has nothing to do with what i was talking about. if you want to use complicated words in a long stretched out way that is your business. for the most part you are just talking to yourself and maybe your fantasy of what your replying to. thank you for your reply it was very funny to read.
because in the times that actually happened there was no other way.
And there still isn’t.
yes saying that from behind your computer now is very easy. when you live in privileged times.
Democracy only works when the government serves and represents the people, and also when the people can take informed and educated decisions on what they want and why. Using words on people that despise you is not going to make much of a difference. We have a great example of that in France right now.
that is exactly what democracy is talking to people that despise you and that you despise. because the next step is just violence and killing some people.
just sad that the people protesting are fucking crazy and then make climate change look like a fucking joke. these people are the perfect example of the worst kind of people fighting for your cause and in doing so make the cause look stupid or not as serious. one would almost think these people are funded by big oil companies to make climate change get a bad image or associate it with crazy people.
Why should a couple crazy people EVER imply a cause is dumb or not worth it?
It sounds more like people suck at judging why things are a good idea. On both sides in this case. Being careful of the climate was and is ALWAYS a good idea regardless of how bad an idea any specific protest is. Humans are too stupid to see their own blind spots because they just assume what’s there instead of actually looking.
are you really asking why crazy people making headlines and becoming the face of a movent makes people not take that movement seriously? because that is exactly how you kill a movement. seems to me your just playing dumb.
Appealing to the actions of stupid people in no way what so ever justifies their stupidity.
Do I seriously have to explain the, “if all your friends were jumping off a bridge…” thing in the year 2024?! I am literally describing to you how people are reactionary, and you go, “yea but people are reactionary!”
Thanks for failing to understand the point: Reactionary thought is stupid. I am calling that natural reaction stupid, because it is stupid. I don’t care if it’s natural. So is dying to a gunshot wound, but I’m still going to go to the hospital.
i’m not justifying anything i’m saying if your movement gets associated with crazy people nobody will take it seriously. im not talking about people being reactionary i’m talking about if you want environmental activism taken seriously you better disassociate from the crazy people like differentiate yourself make that very clear your not them or your movement is fucking dead. has nothing to do with what you find stupid. its about not repelling people if you want to get shit done.
I agree optics are extremely important, but my point still stands that humanity is fucking stupid for partaking in such judgement.
stupidity is eternal.
Maybe it’s cause those people that have the strong will and drive to protest have been doing it for 20 years and are getting sick of being ignored so they up the ante.
then these people would not really be doing a very good job. upping the ante will only backfire.
And what do you suggest instead if previous tactics clearly are not working?
leave Greta Thunberg at home and just go from there. and then make serious business serious business again.
ok. Lets say Greta Thunberg stays at home. What now? What are we supposed to do?
not talk about Greta Thunberg anymore and act like that never happened. why would you ask me maybe ask some groups who are actually serious about what they do. yes maybe do that.
What are these „serious“ groups and what are they doing, that makes them „serious“ in your opinion?
I like how not the folks who ignore or even facilitate climate catastrophe are the crazy one.
nothing in reality works like that.
Not sure what you are trying to express.
problems never just solve themselves like that. and definitely big ones like the climate.
I’m really curious how you interpret my statement, care to share? I lack to see any connection between your statement and mine.
you said that people who ignore the climate or create climate change should be seen as the crazy people.
Ah, ok I get you now. That was more of a funny observation on the nature of our reality, where the definition of crazy are rather subjective and mostly used to discredit opponents. I think we saying very similar things, just in different ways.
