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.
