Stigmatising activists creates criminalisation and repression and cost lives worldwide: UN expert

NEW YORK – Civil freedoms face high risk of threats and erosion due to increased widespread stigmatisation and vilification for exercising the fundamental rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, a UN expert said.

“States and the international community, including the United Nations through all its bodies, must take seriously the hostile narratives that are fast spreading worldwide, including in historic democracies, to vilify and stigmatise people exercising their fundamental freedoms,” said Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, who presented her report to the General Assembly.

“Those targeted are often people vocal in defence of peace, justice, equality, human rights, sustainable development climate justice, and democracy,” Romero said.

She said she was worried by a trend of concerted weaponisation of stigmatising rhetoric and political discourse, sustained through disinformation and smear campaigns, targeting civil society and peaceful civic activism. “These narratives, often promoted in the name of protection of national security, state sovereignty, and moral values, are in fact being used to silence and repress dissent, public activism and political participation.”

The Special Rapporteur said broad counterterrorism and violent extremis measures have been used to persecute and criminalise peace activists and environmental defenders among others, while human rights activists are being labelled as ‘foreign agents’ and subjected to undue restrictions. “Such measures have been accompanied by stigmatising political rhetoric.”

Romero said there is a mutually reinforcing cycle between spread of stigmatising rhetoric and violence, repression of civic space, activists, journalists, unionists and protesters.

“Stigmatising and harmful narratives undermine the very essence of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and it leads to serious human rights violations, entrenching impunity, closing of civic space, erosion of human rights, polarisation and undermining of democracy,” the expert said. Promptly countering such narratives and ensuring access to redress is integral to States’ obligations to respect, protect and enable the exercise of these rights.

Romero said countering stigmatisation requires a holistic human rights-oriented approach to change harmful narratives through ensuring legal frameworks compliant with international human standards, accountability, tackling discrimination and promoting diverse narratives.

“Civil society and protest should not be treated as an enemy or a threat – they play a critical role for building bridges between communities and with the authorities. Amid rising threats of war, environmental crisis and polarisation that erodes societies, democracies and undermines peace, it is more urgent than ever to ensure and foster a safe and inclusive space for everyone to participate so that people can engage safely in public debates for a better and safer future for all,” Romero said.