The “Guidelines on the Right to Peaceful Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience” have been released, drawing on both the Aarhus Convention and international human rights treaties and standards. These Guidelines provide both guiding and operational principles to assist Aarhus Parties and other UN Member States in protecting environmental defenders who engage in peaceful protest, including civil disobedience. The Guidelines build on this framework and on the Special Rapporteur’s prior position paper, outlining how States should respond to peaceful environmental protest while fulfilling their obligations under international law. They emphasize the duties of States to respect, protect, and remedy violations of rights, and they include recommendations for private legal entities to act in accordance with international human rights standards. Parties and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to disseminate and translate the Guidelines to ensure broad understanding and application, strengthening protections for environmental defenders worldwide. Read more here.
Source: Aarhus Convention
