Protecting the environment is crucial for ensuring the rights of every human on our planet. Yet, environmental human rights activists are under constant scrutiny from governments and institutions for what they stand for.
As the safety of the activists becomes increasingly more vulnerable, solutions are needed now to protect their vital work. Last week, 400 activists, whistle-blowers, and institutional leaders came together to discuss the future of activism across Europe and the world.
Led by the Council of Europe, the two-day Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders was the first of its kind in Europe, paving the way for the defenders to communicate their challenges and for true reforms to be made.
Healthy Environment a Human Right
On July 28, 2022, the UN made the historic declaration that a healthy environment is a basic human right. The declaration called on member states to ensure citizens have access to a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” as climate change continues to threaten the future of the world.
At last week’s Forum, Michael O’Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, said:
“…every day, I see the interplay of attacks on the environment and human well-being. I also see how the defence of the planet is profoundly a human rights responsibility.”
The Council of Europe Strategy on the Environment highlights the dire need for a healthy planet for the benefit of all humanity. In the Strategy, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, summed it up: “Climate breakdown weakens communities, fuels inequality and threatens human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”
Objective 3 of this Strategy is aimed at “supporting and protecting environmental human rights defenders, environmental defenders and whistle-blowers,” the main focus of the Forum in Strasbourg.
The Forum examined the challenges faced by activists and how governments and institutions can safeguard climate defenders.
Challenges Faced by Environmental Defenders
Environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) are crucial to strengthening democratic accountability and exposing environmental harm, yet they face constant risk of persecution. In fact, around three defenders are killed each week globally.
Climate activists in some countries are killed at higher rates than soldiers, as a Nature Sustainability study found in 2019. Every year, almost 200 people are killed defending the environment.
South and Central America are the most dangerous places for environmental defenders, with over 70% of killings occurring in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, and Brazil.
Indigenous people are the most affected by environmental harm and the consequences of standing up for it. Of the defenders killed in Mexico, over 40% were Indigenous. In addition to being attacked at a higher rate, climate change and industrial expansion are drastically affecting their livelihoods.
At the Forum, Karin Kvarfordt Niia, a member of Sweden’s Sami Parliament and reindeer herder for the Gabna Sami community, criticized the displacement of the Indigenous Sami people by the expansion of the mining industry in Sweden.
The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC) found that Roma communities across Europe are disproportionately exposed to pollution from landfills and industrial plants.
Indigenous people and EHRDs are fighting to improve these conditions, yet face many hurdles.
Speaking to defenders at the Forum, Petra Bayr, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said:
“You are harassed. You are surveilled. You are dragged through courts not because you broke the law, but because someone with money and specific interests decided your voice was inconvenient.”
Bayr highlighted SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), calling them weapons against climate defenders. The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe reported that 167 abusive lawsuits were recorded in 2024, up from 166 the previous year. Since 2010, there have been 1,303 recorded SLAPPs.
Global Witness discovered that environmental defenders in the United Kingdom are arrested at a rate three times that of far-right agitators. Since 2019, close to 7,000 defenders have been arrested. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, 2,226 climate activists were arrested in London, compared to 309 far-right activists.
The UK has been cracking down on peaceful protests since the introduction of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act in April 2022. The Act gave police the ability to arrest protesters for making too much noise or participating in a one-person protest.
With governments, the police, and wealthy business owners consistently trying to keep climate activists silent, it is more important than ever that these defenders are protected.
Outcome of the Forum
Organized by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, and the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, the forum lasted for two days on June 3 and 4.
The Forum opened a dialogue among EHRDs, policymakers, and international organizations across the Council’s 46 member states.
The inaugural edition of the European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders provided a safe space for EHRDs to share stories about their experiences and help identify gaps in legislation.
The second day of the Forum focused on “strengthening protection mechanisms and environmental standards across Europe” and “identifying concrete follow-up measures and recommendations for future editions of the Forum.”
One of these measures will be the New Democratic Pact for Europe. The Pact aims to reinforce the foundations of democracy through encouraging dialogues and empowering Europe’s youth.
Additional measures include sustainable funding for advocacy and protection, as well as improved monitoring. The FRA aims to develop an indicator framework to monitor civic space, providing data and evidence to address challenges.
Through the Forum, EHRDs finally have a voice and a platform in Europe to share experiences, build coalitions, and strengthen protections. With stronger mechanisms in place, defenders can continue working for a healthier environment and a better world.
Petra Bayr concluded her speech with the following:
“Defenders of the environment are defenders of the future. And the future deserves a legal framework worthy of the people fighting for it.”
The Forum was a significant first step in a lengthy process to protect the people who are protecting humanity.
The next edition of the Forum will take place in 2028.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Family photo at the First European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders. Cover Photo Credit: Council of Europe.
