LONDON: A UN human rights expert warned on Wednesday that new protest restrictions in the UK risked undermining fundamental democratic freedoms.
Amid growing political pressure to curb pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Gina Romero, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, said provisions in the UK’s new Crime and Policing Act were incompatible with international human rights obligations.
She said the provisions infringed “international human rights obligations regarding the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association, and expression.”
She also expressed particular concern over the law’s use of the term “cumulative disruption,” which she said gave police overly broad powers to restrict protests.
Romero also criticized provisions criminalizing face coverings during demonstrations, warning that anonymity could be essential for protecting privacy amid increased surveillance and preventing a chilling effect on public participation.
The comments came after the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on April 29 that he would consider banning some pro-Palestinian protests following multiple stabbings in the Golders Green area of London.
Starmer said he was concerned about the “cumulative” impact such demonstrations were having on the UK’s Jewish community.
Opposition politicians and the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation also called for tougher restrictions, arguing that some protests risked fueling antisemitism.
Romero said antisemitism must be addressed through lawful and targeted measures, but warned against using it to justify broad restrictions on peaceful assembly.
“Banning pro-Palestinian protests would be an affront to democracy,” she said, adding that restrictions appeared to place disproportionate scrutiny on protests associated with Muslim communities.
The UN expert also warned that limiting demonstrations near places of worship could create “no-go zones” for dissent and undermine the right to protest within “sight and sound” of the intended audience.
Her remarks were made ahead of planned Nakba Day demonstrations on May 16, which mark the displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Romero said she had previously raised concerns about protest restrictions with the British government.
