Human Rights Watch Accuses UK of Undermining Democratic Rights With Crackdown on Climate Protesters [Video]

The United Kingdom’s crackdown on climate protesters is setting a “dangerous” global precedent, according to the UK Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Yasmine Ahmed, reported The Guardian.

British authorities are undermining democratic rights, particularly the right to protest peacefully, according to HRW’s World Report 2025.

“Many of us had hoped that an incoming Labour government would have repealed the undemocratic anti-protest legislation introduced under the previous administration, especially given Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s background as a human rights lawyer,” Ahmed said in a press release from HRW. “That they have chosen not to, and are instead defending these measures in court, beggars belief. Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of a healthy and functioning democracy.”

The 546-page report examined human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In many places, governments took action to stop, wrongfully arrest and imprison activists, political opponents and journalists. Civilians were unlawfully killed by government forces and armed groups and driven from their homes while access to humanitarian …