Amnesty International said in a Monday report that the right of peaceful assembly in Europe is increasingly under attack due to state authorities stigmatizing and punishing individuals who organize and participate in peaceful protests.

The report’s findings are based on legal regulations of the right to peaceful assembly in 21 European countries, including Austria, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. While all 21 countries are party to international treaties that oblige them to “respect, protect and uphold human rights to freedom of peaceful assembly,” Amnesty International found that state authorities of such countries pass repressive laws to crack down on individuals who organize and participate in peaceful protests.

According to the report, state authorities often stigmatized peaceful protests by likening protesters who supported causes such as Palestinian solidarity and climate justice to “criminals”, “terrorists”, “anarchists”, “foreign agents” and “extremists”. Germany, Italy and the UK employ this rhetoric in justifying further restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly.

The report stated that some of the 21 countries impose excessive and unwarranted obligations that restrict the right of peaceful assembly. Austria, Hungary, Czechia and Türkiye at times mandate organizers of peaceful assemblies to be ‘citizens’. Some countries also implement age restrictions that disallow children from organizing protests. The report said:

Many of the obligations and restrictions imposed on organizers across the countries analyzed are unwarranted and excessive. They fail to meet the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality established under international law, including when they are based on vague or ambiguous provisions. Furthermore, they are discriminatory in nature.

The report also expressed concerns over extra costs, such as the costs of public services at assemblies, that organizers have to pay to organize and participate in peaceful assemblies in Hungary, Portugal, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland and Sweden. The report wrote:

The function of maintaining public order and safety is non-delegable and should always remain the responsibility of state agencies. The attempt to delegate it to organizers and stewards amounts to an abdication by state authorities of their positive obligations to actively protect and facilitate the right of peaceful assembly. Legally requiring organizers to contribute towards costs of [policing, security, public cleaning, medical services or appointing stewards] is incompatible with states’ obligations.

Amnesty International urged states to amend national legislation to allow all individuals to organize and participate in peaceful assemblies, repeal legislations that require organizers to pay for organizing assemblies and ensure that organizers are not liable for conduct they are not directly responsible for.

The right of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right that allows individuals to freely express their views and participate in social discourse as a collective. The right is protected under various international human rights treaties, covenants and instruments, such as Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.