Today, two climate activists from Heerlen have launched a case against the Netherlands at the UN Human Rights Committee. The case concerns restrictions imposed by the municipality of Heerlen in March 2021 on a peaceful demonstration against the climate crisis. Following the Dutch court’s decision to uphold a number of significant restrictions, the organisers of the demonstration are now taking their case to the international legal system.<\/p>\n
On 14 March 2021, local climate protests were organised across the Netherlands, including in Heerlen. There, the organisers of Klimaatcoalitie Parkstad were confronted with a series of no fewer than 28 far-reaching restrictions imposed by the authorities. Among other things, the mayor of Heerlen banned music and performances, arguing that this would give the protest \u201cthe character of an event\u201d. In addition, the names of all speakers had to be submitted before the protest, and the organisers were held personally liable for clean-up work and any damage.<\/p>\n
Following lengthy legal proceedings, the Council of State finally ruled in September 2025, amongst other things, that the ban on music was justified, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the requirement to provide the names of speakers in advance was not regarded as an infringement of the freedom of demonstration. The Parkstad Climate Coalition\u2019s complaint regarding the clearance and cleaning obligations was declared inadmissible.<\/p>\n
The organisers consider the Council of State\u2019s ruling as a serious restriction on their right to demonstrate. \u201cThese restrictions strike at the heart of what makes a demonstration: the freedom to speak out and inspire others,\u201d said one of the organisers. \u201cBy taking this step to the UN Human Rights Committee, we want to prevent such restrictions from becoming the norm in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organisers\u2019 lawyer, Rosa Beets of the PILP Foundation: \u2018The Council of State has applied the right to demonstrate completely incorrectly. This is not only harmful to the case in Heerlen, but also for future cases concerning the right to demonstrate. We are therefore asking the UN Committee to instruct the Netherlands to prevent similar violations in the future.\u2019<\/p>\n
The case sets out why the restrictions contravene Article 19 (freedom of expression) and Article 21 (freedom of assembly) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).<\/p>\n