Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

COP27 protesters call for climate reparations, human rights

COP27 protesters call for climate reparations, human rights

Demonstrators call for the release of political prisoners, chanting ‘no climate justice without human rights’.

Hundreds of activists at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh have marched calling on industrialised nations to pay for the impact of global warming and demanding freedom for political prisoners.

Chants of “free them all” and “no climate justice without human rights” rang out as activists marched on Saturday through the conference’s “Blue Zone”, which is considered UN territory and ruled by international law.

“Pay for loss and damage now,” Friday Nbani, a Nigerian environmental activist leading a group of African activists, said on Saturday.

Many demonstrators, alongside several vulnerable countries, have called for “loss and damage” payments, or financing to help pay for climate-related harms, to be central to negotiations. “Africa is crying, and its people are dying,” Nbani said.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, an environmental and Indigenous rights activist from Chad who is also a UN climate “champion”, said her people were dying because of floods and droughts, while Indigenous people in the Pacific were losing their homelands.

“We cannot accept any decision here without loss and damage reparations,” she told the crowd, adding that keeping to the 1.5C global warming limit in the Paris Agreement “is not negotiable”.

While the Egyptian COP27 presidency mandated that demonstrations must be approved by organising authorities and should take place only in a particular zone, activists said they got UN permission for their activities outside the designated area.

Sanaa Seif, the sister of jailed Egyptian-British dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah, marched in the front line under a banner reading, “You have not yet been defeated” – the title of Abd el-Fattah’s book, which has become a rallying cry for summit activists.

In 2015, he was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of violating protest laws two years earlier, when the current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coup against the late President Hosni Mubarak’s democratically elected successor, Mohamed Morsi. Abd el-Fattah began consuming “only 100 calories a day” in April, his family said, to protest the conditions he and about 60,000 other political prisoners faced in the country.

Since November 6, when the climate summit kicked off, he has stopped all water intake. The family made an official request for a presidential pardon from President Sisi on Friday, Abd el-Fattah’s other sister Mona Seif announced.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday his government was doing “everything it can” to secure Abd el-Fattah’s release.

President Joe Biden, who flew in on Friday, had “an extended discussion on the issue of human rights” with President Sisi, Sullivan said, and directed his officials to work with the Egyptians on several cases, including Abd el-Fattah’s.



Demonstrators also called for drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Emissions continue to rise, but scientists say the amount of heat-trapping gases needs to be almost halved by 2030 to meet the temperature-limiting goals of the Paris climate accord.

Activists chanted “keep it in the ground” in reference to their rejection of the continued extraction of fossil fuels.

On Friday, some of them heckled US President Joe Biden’s speech and raised an orange banner that read, “People vs. Fuels” before being removed. One of the activists, Jacob Johns, had his access to the conference revoked as a result.

The demonstration came at the end of the first week of the two-week summit, when typically protest action at climate summits is at its height.

COP27 featured a light agenda for Saturday, and a full day of rest on Sunday before the focus shifts to discussions around a final document meant to reflect what has been agreed upon and achieved at the summit this year.

Talks are expected to intensify through next week until the conference concludes on November 18, as delegates jockey for their priorities to be included in the closing declaration.

Rallies also called for an end to a crackdown on environmental activists and minorities and for the rights of Indigenous groups, women, labourers and people with disabilities, especially in developing nations.

Protest organiser Asad Rehman read a statement from Abd el-Fattah’s sister, as Seif stood silently next to him.

“I came here thinking I would be alone,” read the statement. “I am sure that those in power thought that my voice would be drowned out and ignored. Instead, I found that my family was already here waiting for me.”



AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
×