In response to a U.S. jury in North Dakota ordering Greenpeace to pay at least $660m to the fossil fuel company Energy Transfer, having found the organization responsible for defamation and the actions of protesters opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016 and 2017, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:
“This devastating verdict sets an array of deeply damaging precedents on the rights to freedom of speech, association and peaceful protest and puts the very future of Greenpeace at risk. It has severe implications for Indigenous Peoples, and other environmental defenders and climate activists who tirelessly work to protect human rights. There is no doubt that it will have a chilling effect on those campaigning to expose wrongdoing by powerful companies in the United States and all over the world.
“Energy Transfer’s chosen path of legal action could be seen as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), which has had the effect of stifling the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and inflicting significant harm on Greenpeace, draining their resources through protracted cases and exorbitant damages, and impeding their ability to fight back.
This devastating verdict sets an array of deeply damaging precedents on the rights to freedom of speech, association and peaceful protest and puts the very future of Greenpeace at risk.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
“While SLAPPs are not a new phenomenon, in recent years we’ve seen an alarming rise in their use to target human rights defenders, stifle criticism and prevent transparency and accountability in key areas such as climate justice. This has led to many countries and regional bodies introducing anti-SLAPP legislation and other crucial instruments to counter the pervasive threats they pose. Such protections are not uncommon in the United States, but the lack of anti-SLAPP statutes in North Dakota could have enabled this outcome.
“Besides punishing Greenpeace, this verdict could also have a chilling effect on Indigenous Peoples, who are often on the frontlines defending climate and environmental justice. Amnesty International has long defended Indigenous Peoples’ rights to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, as well as their right to be properly consulted and have an assessment carried out on how it would impact their land, culture and access to clean water.
“Ultimately, fossil fuel infrastructure projects like this pipeline harm not only Indigenous Peoples but all of humanity and the planet. The science is clear: we need an urgent and equitable phase-out of fossil fuel extraction, production and use to avoid the worst effects of global heating. It’s time for the world to clamp down on the corporate greed destroying our planet and harming everyone on it.”
Header image: A protestor holds up his arms as he and other protestors are threatened by private security guards and guard dogs, at a work site for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) oil pipeline, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, September 3, 2016. Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images.
