Michel Forst came to Italy and the police gave him a not-subtle warning

The UN Special Rapporteur for environmental activists: ‘The repressive laws enacted in various countries have a single objective: to target environmental activists and those who resort to civil disobedience.’

In recent days, Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders under the Aarhus Convention, visited Italy as a guest of the NGO A Sud and the In Difesa Di network. Forst is an internationally renowned legal expert with extensive experience in international institutions and human rights organizations. From 2014 to 2020, he served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. Since 2022, he has served as the Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, with the specific task of investigating threats and human rights violations against those defending the environment and the climate, and providing a rapid response mechanism.

Forst's mandate was established to address an increasingly evident trend. In recent years, defending the environment has become particularly dangerous. According to the latest report by Global Witness, in 2024 at least 146 defenders of the local land and environment were killed or disappeared while fighting extractive projects, deforestation or the despoiling of natural resources. That is an average of about three people per week. From 2012 to the present day, the NGO has documented 2,253 murders or disappearances of eco-activists worldwide, but the actual number is likely much higher because many cases go unreported. In Europe too, the issue is becoming a central concern. In recent years, many countries have seen a growing criminalization of eco-activism, with the introduction of bespoke repressive laws. In Italy, first the “eco-vandalism” decree and then the security decrees established new crimes and toughened penalties for certain forms of nonviolent protest.

We spoke with Forst – who, during his visit, met with activists and organizations and was received in Parliament by a delegation of........

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