UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor called on world leaders Friday to put an end to the repression faced by climate activists, and to instead protect them as human rights defenders, emphasizing that the climate crisis is a human rights crisis.

The UN expert stated: “States are repressing the voices of the exact people they should be working alongside … We are seeing a backlash in every region of the world, with the repression particularly prevalent in historically high-emitting States and places where fossil fuel infrastructure is being expanded.”

Lawlor presented a report to the UN General Assembly in which she recognized that countries like Brazil, Norway, and Slovenia have supported the work of human rights advocates working on climate. This support has been provided through the adoption of specific legislation offering them protection, as well as the provision of funding for non-governmental organizations.

However, the report also noted that human rights and climate defenders continue to experience retaliation for their activism from both state and non-state actors. The reported repressive measures included the criminalization of their activities through broad criminal laws, restrictions on peaceful assembly, and the use of police violence and surveillance. Lawlor further identified that women, Indigenous human rights defenders, and journalists are particularly exposed to heightened risks, facing not only retaliation but also discrimination, social stigma, and, in some cases, fatal violence.

The UN expert further emphasized that effective climate action requires the protection of human rights and that states must implement concrete measures to ensure this protection. She recommended that states collaborate with climate activists to develop effective climate change solutions by ensuring a safe environment for their work. Additionally, she urged governments to facilitate activists’ access to climate-related information and to strengthen their participation in decision-making processes.

Global rights organizations have raised concerns about repressive and retaliatory campaigns targeting environmental activists, while climate-related disasters such as glacier loss and floods have increased worldwide. Despite the UN’s efforts to establish treaties regulating human activity and protecting the environment, including the Paris Agreement, the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, as well as the recognition of access to a clean and healthy environment as a human right, rights organizations continue to criticize world leaders for excluding environmental activists from international climate action events, including the Conference of Parties (COP).