We defend fundamental rights against repression: by helping to shape legal debates concerning the environmental movement, we ensure that environmental activism is seen as a democratic contribution that is legitimate and defensible.
The importance of climate activism for the common good and democratic participation is understood and accepted by all relevant actors in society.
Activists and their organizations enjoy better protection against repression thanks to strengthened legal capabilities, structures, and networks. Existing and increasing repression is discussed among the general public in connection with freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
In the face of the escalating climate and biodiversity crisis, an active and vocal civil society is more important than ever. Nevertheless, environmental activists in many European countries are coming under increasing pressure: through police violence, criminalization, threats, abusive legal proceedings, or disinformation campaigns. Young people who peacefully campaign for climate and environmental protection are particularly affected. Working with partner organizations from several EU countries, we are trying to counter these developments through two EU-funded projects.
The aim of the EnviRights project (Empowering eNVIronmental RIGHTS defenders through monitoring, capacity building and advocacy in Europe) is to better protect the political participation rights of environmental activists throughout Europe, in particular the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. As part of an alliance of several NGOs
Our common goal: a safe environment for engagement and protest. We want young people in Europe to be able to actively campaign for environmental and climate protection without fear of repression.
Working with partners from six EU countries, PARATA (Protecting At-Risk Activists from Threats and Attacks) strengthens civil society’s resilience to political attacks. The project develops new protection strategies, collects best practices from across Europe, and makes them available as freely accessible resources. The aim is to better protect organizations and activists from attacks (both online and offline) and to help them effectively exercise their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association. Particular attention is paid to groups that face multiple forms of violence. The protection of digital spaces; data protection and dealing with surveillance are also key areas of focus.
In addition to monitoring and training, PARATA aims to strengthen public debate so that civil society is seen not as a threat but as a driving force for democracy and human rights. To this end, the project works closely with the media, authorities, and political decision-makers at the local, national, and European levels.
We offer regular webinars and in-person lectures for climate activists. These cover the full range of legal issues that climate activists encounter in their political work, from the right of assembly to civil service employment and civil lawsuits. Our goal is to enable the climate movement to understand legal risks and assess them with confidence. In doing so, we want to contribute to expanding and deepening the movement’s broad knowledge base, thereby creating collective capacity for action.
For people who are new to the climate movement, we also try to create a low-threshold service where initial questions on legal topics can be answered by lawyers and other experts.
English language publications only, for a full list of our publications please visit Publikationen.