Written by Paula Brečak
As governments and those in power around the world ignore various social and environmental crises, as they insist on unjust systems of discrimination which benefit few while exploiting many, and as they engage in violent conflicts that risk lives and livelihoods, people organize protests to demand recognition of pressing issues and attention on solving them.
Protest is a social tool that allows people to gather in larger numbers and voice their concerns, opinions, and ideas, expose violence and discrimination, as well as demand justice and accountability. More than simply a tool, protest is a human right, exercised through the right to freedom of expression and the right of peaceful assembly. The right to protest is also enabled through the rights to life, privacy, freedom of association, freedom from torture and other ill-treatment or punishment, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.
Protests are often engaged in order to insist on and advance human rights and bring attention to various injustices. They create power through numbers and give a voice to those that are usually silenced and discriminated against. Many protests throughout history managed to bring about societal change, or at least attention to important issues. Such an example from recent years is the Argentinian #NiUnaMenos movement which began with a protest in 2015 and spread across Latin America, speaking out against femicide and “machista violence,” as well as for safe access to abortion. The U.S. Women’s March in 2017 similarly prompted various feminist protests around the world and made sexual harassment and violence a topic of public discourse.
Very often, however, peaceful protests are met with harsh and violent responses from the governments and the authorities, with the goal to stigmatize the protesters and crack down on rightful civil mobilization. The tactics and tools employed include legislations restricting human rights and freedoms, violent attacks including lethal weapons, criminalization, surveillance, and more. In 1989, Chinese students who gathered in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to peacefully protest for political and economic reform, were massacred and arrested, and any mentions of the protest were censored. Since 2004, Russia has been tightening its restrictions on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, especially concerning anti-government protests. During the Black Lives Matter protests against systemic racism and police violence in the U.S. in 2020, 125 separate incidents of police violence and uses of excessive force against protesters were recorded.
Protests in Iran since September 2022
The right to protest is currently under attack in Iran as well. The ongoing Iranian civil uprising against the Islamic Republic has been met with outright violent and unlawful responses by the authorities. Current nationwide demonstrations were sparked by the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini on 16th September 2022, who succumbed to injuries from being ill-treated and tortured while in custody, after being arrested by Iranian “morality” police. Protesters are also addressing the lack of freedoms and violations of women’s rights. Days after the protests began, reports of violent responses by the security forces, injuring and killing adults and children both, were obtained by Amnesty International. Eyewitnesses said that metal pellets were being fired at close range, aiming at protesters' heads, chests, and backs, indicating intent to cause harm.
Since September 2022, Iranian authorities have tried to violently and brutally stop the protests and intimidate protesters and Iranian youth into silence and docility. By 9th December 2022, Amnesty International had details of 300 men, women, and children killed by Iranian security forces through unlawful use of force, at least 44 of which were child protesters or bystanders, with many more injured. Children make up 14% of all deaths amidst Iranian protests, as recorded by Amnesty International. Besides being at risk of lethal injuries while protesting, demonstrators are also at risk of execution after being subjected to unjust sham trials. By 16th December 2022, Amnesty International had confirmed the identities of 10 individuals, involved in the anti-establishment protests, who were sentenced to death. These sentences come from fast-tracked trials and forced confessions which offer no possibility of acquittal to the accused.
While Iranian protesters are being so harshly beaten down using these and other tactics, to stop protests and instill fear into the Iranian people, the Iranian authorities deny and cover up these violations of human rights. They claim that “the right to free expression and peaceful assembly [are being] recognized and ensured” when this is the exact opposite of what is happening. This is a direct threat to the protest as a people’s tool for fighting for and requesting change and justice from the bottom up. Suppressing protests, especially using violent and abusive methods, is an infringement of human rights and should not be tolerated.
Protect the Protest
Protests are often disruptive, not always comfortable, and as stated before, can be met with dangerous and sometimes lethal backlash. This does not mean that protests should not happen, but even more, this highlights that they should be protected. Over time and with insistence, protests can incite changes that benefit societies and populations. Protests are not a privilege afforded only to those who follow the status quo and do not criticize too much, they are a right of the people, needed the most precisely when there is much to criticize and when human rights are threatened.
The protest must be protected by all governments through laws and practice, to make sure that peaceful and rightful protests can be safely facilitated and not attacked, whether by state institutions, security forces, or civil groups. This includes not only stopping various restrictions and violations of human rights, which have the goal of cracking down protests and intimidating protestors, but proactively implementing adequate legislation and protections for protesters, protest organization and facilitation.
Join Amnesty International’s campaign to Protect the Protest HERE to stay informed and join others around the world in demanding freedom and protection of the protest.
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