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European hostility to protests on the plight of Gaza has led a UN special rapporteur to warn the right of freedom to demonstrate is under strain due to countries' use of legal levers to ban pro-Palestine marches.
Since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, authorities across Europe, notably in Germany and France, have taken measures to quell protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.
From adapting existing laws to using powers under their terrorism acts, numerous countries have implemented bans on marches, chanting, flag-waving and the use of certain slogans.
UN special rapporteur Clement Voule told The National the measures could erode human freedom.
“I am concerned about the continuing global undue restrictions, including impositions of blanket bans, by states around the world on protests, especially those in defence of Palestinians’ rights and those calling for a ceasefire in the Israel/Hamas armed conflict,” he said.
“This sets a very worrying precedent that could have a great impact on the exercise of our fundamental rights and freedoms.”
He said in times of crisis like today, people should have “space to raise their voices, grievances and solidarity, and calls for peace, justice and security”.
He said the banning of rallies has been “disproportionate and arbitrary” and could result in “a serious impact on our freedoms”.
Among several European countries to have explored legal options, Germany has banned marches and slogans and France is looking to bring in new legal powers to fine people who criticise Israel publicly.
“This would be very damaging for democracy and could contribute to strengthening the rise of authoritarianism around the world,” Mr Voule said.
“It would be a major setback for human rights as a whole. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of expression are vital for the protection and promotion of all human rights and they are vital for marginalised groups to be included in the decision-making.”
Amnesty International has also raised concerns and told The National the speed at which governments have acted to impose measures is at “fever pitch”.
What steps have been taken?
Germany has taken a tough stance against the attack on Israel by banning Hamas and its hallmarks – which includes the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
In contrast, the Netherlands has decided the phrase is “not hateful”.
It is one of several measures Germany is taking to tackle pro-Palestine protests, which have led to marches being banned, the closure of an organisation called Samidoun, which it has accused of spreading anti-Jewish propaganda, and raids on centres with suspected links to Hamas and Hezbollah.
Former diplomat Hans-Jakob Schindler, of the Counter Extremism Project, said Germany's measures show that to be treated as a potential threat groups no longer have to openly call for violence.
“Of course, support for Hamas, or attempts to support Hamas, will not necessarily stop in Germany but every time you have one of these bans it makes it more difficult, it makes it harder, it makes it riskier for individuals,” he said.
Courts prevented the government imposing blanket bans, so it instead circumnavigated existing legislation to prohibit rallies on a case-by-case basis under the guise that they pose a potential risk to public order.
Incitement to hatred and the burning of Israeli flags “are not examples of people embracing their freedoms. These are crimes”, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
Germany's government is also seeking legal changes to punish people who criticise Israel and is reviewing the law on incitement to give it the power to strip people of citizenship if they support Hamas.
Officials in Berlin gave schools the power to ban Palestinian keffiyeh headscarves and imagery of the map of Israel in the colours of Palestine.
France stepped back from a blanket ban on marches but relinquished power to local authorities to assess whether it would cause a potential risk to public order.
Free speech in Europe has been narrowed in record time. It is leaving victims without any voices
Julia Hall,
Amnesty International
Its government is proposing new laws to punish those who deny the existence of Israel with up to five years' in prison or heavy fines for offences such as insulting Israel or provoking hatred or violence against Israel.
In London, attempts to ban marches which coincided with Armistice Day floundered and efforts by former home secretary Suella Braverman to ban flag-waving were not supported by the police.
But officers still successfully used public order legislation to remove dozens of protesters from a sit-in at King's Cross Station near the city centre.
It is examining new measures to lower the threshold for banning a march that is considered to pose an existential risk to the right of assembly.
Protests have also been banned in Austria, Hungary, Poland and Switzerland.
The Netherlands has given powers to its mayors to intervene in pro-Hamas demonstrations and some protests have been forced to relocate.
The Dutch government failed in a bid to condemn the use of pro-Palestinian slogans as inciting violence.
Spain and Italy have allowed public demonstrations on the matter.
Fears more draconian measures will be introduced
Amnesty International’s expert on counter-terrorism and human rights in Europe, Julia Hall, told The National the fast pace with which measures are being introduced are “very concerning”.
“What people can say and do is narrowing by the day,” she said.
“France is particularly problematic, they are proposing to criminalise people who criticise Israel. What we are seeing is something new.
“We have gone from marches being banned to the narrowing of what speech can be used.
“Free speech in Europe has been narrowed in record time. It is leaving victims without any voices.
“I do not think this will be a one-off.
“The chilling effect of this is that people are afraid. It will create silence among people who would have gone out and protested and it really is very worrying.”
UN criticises politicians for inflammatory rhetoric
The UN has criticised the language that has been used by some politicians.
In the UK, Ms Braverman came under fire from opposition politicians for “sowing the seeds of hatred” for her use of "inflammatory language" after she branded pro-Palestinian demonstrations “hate marches”.
“Banning peaceful protests, or branding them as “hate protests”, further contributes to polarisation,” Mr Voule said.
“Politicians and leaders should ensure responsible use of language and avoid the use of such divisive and vague rhetoric, which also leads to stigmatisation of certain groups.
“I am also concerned about reports indicating political pressure towards law enforcement to restrict or ban pro-Palestinian protests, which raises further concern that restrictions are for political purposes rather than for legitimate reasons allowed by law.
“It is in the time of war that people need to come together and voice their discontent and pressure the belligerents to stop the violence and to prevent the commission of grave human rights violations and war crimes.
Mr Voule added: "Recent examples show the importance of anti-war protests such as in the context of the Iraq war, Vietnam War, among others. We were all allowed to protest then, although we had different positions.
“This time should not be different – people should be allowed to protest in the context of the continuing war in Gaza and to stop the unfolding humanitarian crisis and suffering of civilians.”
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
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