Summary:
On 28 May 2026, it was announced that two climate protesters from the Netherlands had filed a Communication before the UN Human Rights Committee concerning the domestic authorities’ response to “the Climate Alarm 2021”, a climate protest that took place in 2021 in the Dutch municipality of Heerlen against the Dutch authorities’ climate policy. This initiative was supported by eleven NGOs including Milieudefensie, which was a claimant in the national legal procedure that preceded the Communication to the UNHRC and which explicitly supported the Communication. The proceedings concern the decision, by first the local mayor under the Public Manifestations Act (“WOM”), and then, on appeal, domestic courts, to apply 28 restrictions to this event in advance, including an obligation to provide names of those who would be speaking in advance of the event, to prohibit music and to hold the organizers liable for any damage.
Before the UNHRC, the Authors of this Communication argue that, drawing on Articles 19 and 21 and aligning with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, these restrictions violated their human rights to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression. They argue that the restrictions were not justified by public health (the COVID-19 pandemic) and that it had a “seriously chilling effect” on freedom of expression and assembly.
The full text of the communication is available below.
Suggested citation:
UN Human Rights Committee, Keularts and van der Luer v. the Netherlands, Communication of 28 May 2026 (pending).
Last updated:
9 June 2026.