24/05/2026
Will we be remembered by causing traffic jams or caring for future generations? 📰
Throughout history, prominent human rights advocates such as Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi made use of peaceful protest and civil disobedience to challenge injustice and to protect human rights principles, people and the planet. At the time, many of them faced stigmatization, criminalization and public backlash. Today, they are remembered for defending fundamental rights, communities and democratic values.
Across the world environmental and human rights defenders continue to stand up for people and planet. Some block roads, bridges or buildings, not because they enjoy disruption, but because they have seen little to none reaction from those responsible of the climate crisis. Often times, they are met with physical harassment out of proportions, legal and administrative consequences, as well as false narratives - despite the peaceful protests being their right and their legacy as defenders ✊🛡️
This week, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting, Miljøbevægelsen NOAH, Nyt Europa, and Globalt Fokus brought together defenders, civil society, journalists and experts to discuss shrinking civic space and the right to peaceful protest and civic disobedience.
It was a pleasure to host UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst in Copenhagen to present his guidelines on peaceful protest. Although Denmark is a democracy with a lively civil society, we cannot oversee the global trends of declining civic space and the widening gap of exercising rights.
Thank you to Annika Röckle, Maria Ploug Petersen, Daniel Simons, and Nikolaj Nielsen for sharing your experiences and insights, and thanks everyone who joined the conversation.
