GENEVA

The UN special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero, has raised alarm over widespread restrictions on pro-Palestine protests across Europe, characterizing the situation as a "crackdown" on civil liberties.

In an interview with Anadolu, Romero highlighted a surge in the "pro-Palestine solidarity movement," encompassing various forms of public assembly.

"We have been seeing a rise of pro-Palestine mobilizations, encampments, vigils, protests, marches... all around the globe and in Europe also," Romero stated.

The special rapporteur expressed deep concern over the treatment of these demonstrations, particularly in several European nations. "We have seen even blanket bans on protests which are completely against the international standards of the promotion and protection of the right of freedom of assembly," she said.

Romero specifically cited Germany, the UK, France, and the Netherlands as areas of particular concern. She noted a stark disparity in the treatment of pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrations.

She said in many countries pro-Israel protests "have been happening without any restriction." In contrast, she said pro-Palestine protests have faced "restrictions for the people who participate," including arrests, hostilities from law enforcers, violence against protesters, and "the use of less lethal weapons in some cases."

Arabic language on target

Romero also highlighted a particular trend, the targeting of the Arabic language at these events.

"In all the countries I mentioned to you, the police has been receiving orders of taking off or restrict the protesters that are either chanting in Arabic or that have signs in Arabic," she said. Romero noted the discriminatory nature of this practice, stating: "Some signs that cite exactly the same, like, for example, 'cease-fire' in German or in English or in French are left there. But those that still have the same message in Arabic are taken off."

The special rapporteur also drew attention to the situation on university campuses, where many of these protests originate. "I was receiving so many allegations of human rights violations by universities," Romero said, noting that while most of these student-led protests were peaceful, they faced "symbolic threats, moral and reputational and administrative attacks from universities itself" as well as "violence from law-enforcers."

*Writing by Yasin Gungor