Time for Europe to Recognize the Right to a Healthy Environment

On the eve of World Environment Day, I joined around 400 environmental defenders and policymakers from across Europe in Strasbourg, France, where they gathered at the first European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders. As Karin Kvarfordt Niia, a reindeer herder from Sweden’s Sami community, discussed how mining projects have displaced Sami people from their lands, she noted: “Defenders who raise their voices are portrayed as obstacles.” Europe has been a perhaps surprisingly hostile environment for climate activists, and defenders feel keenly that the lack of a regional…

© Human Rights Watch - vendredi 5 juin 2026