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Protect the Protest

An image of a person under a rainbow flag while attending a protest for LGTBI+ rights
An image of a person under a rainbow flag while attending a protest for LGTBI+ rights

Throughout history, people coming together in protest has changed the world for the better. From stopping wars, winning human rights victories and standing up against racism - protest has been powerful.

But now, this precious right is under attack and deserves to be protected from people in power who fear change and don’t want to be held to account.

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Protest is a Human Right

Find out why protest is a human right and its role in creating powerful social change. Positive change for human rights would not happen without the right to protest. Many of the great movements of our world’s history used protest and benefited humanity as a whole.
Protest rights

Scrap new anti-protest laws

Join thousands in demanding the Home Secretary scrap the government's new anti-protest laws in the UK. The government continues to attack our rights to protest and freedom of expression. They are trying to restrict challenges to their actions, stopping us from holding them to account.
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Torture and our right to protest

Across the world, when communities speak up they face torture by the authorities. During peaceful protests, police forces across the world are increasingly misusing weapons to violently repress protesters. Learn more about how we can stop it together.
Amnesty UK CEO blog

There’s no better time for a ceasefire protest than Armistice Day

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive explains why there's no more appropriate time for peaceful protest than Armistice Day, when we reflect on the horrors of armed conflict.
Protest map

Interactive Protest Map

Our new interactive map reveals how many countries misuse police weapons such as rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, and batons to harass, intimidate, punish, or drive away protesters, shutting down their right to peaceful assembly. It also includes protest restrictions in the UK.
Protest & policing

Why anti-protest policing over the Coronation weekend is the writing on the wall

The writing has been on the wall for years. Our fundamental rights to peaceful protest are rapidly disappearing as police forces begin to use the vast range of new anti-protest powers given to them under last years' Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act and this years' Public Order Act.
Public Order Bill

The Public Order Bill: Explained

On 26 April 2023 the Public Order Bill finally passed the House of Lords. Chilling laws like the Public Order Bill risk the UK becoming a repressive state. Find out more in this explainer
Read our report

Global: Protesters increasingly maimed and killed by police misuse of rubber bullets

People exercising their human right to protest are being increasingly maimed and killed by police misuse of rubber bullets, some which are produced in the UK. Learn why we need a global torture-free trade treaty to regulate trade in policing equipment.
Join our course

Protect the Protest: Using Our Rights to Freedom of Assembly and Expression

Join us to learn how to organise a protest, why protest creates social change, how protest is under threat. On this three-week course you’ll investigate the power of protest as a force for change and explore current challenges to the right to protest.
Why protest matters

10 famous protests the Policing Bill would've threatened

Find out which 10 famous protests might never have happened under the Government's Policing Bill. These examples show how vital protest is for our democracy.

UK: Police must not bow to political pressure to ban weekend march

The police must not bow to political pressure to ban this weekend’s march.
Public Order Bill

Joint Briefing on the Public Order Bill

Read why we urge Parliamentarians to reject the Public Order Bill in its entirety. The UK consistently criticises repressive policies in countries such as Russia, Hong Kong and Belarus, yet is attempting to implement similarly repressive policies in this Bill.
Children's protest

Children's Right to Protest

The right to protest is a fundamental right and a vital way for children to make their voices heard in a democracy, particularly when they are denied the right to participate in the democratic system by voting.
Policing Bill

UK: Senior policing figures warn serious violence measures in Policing Bill won't work

Senior policing figures and racial justice experts have warned against increased use of stop and search and data sharing in Policing Bill. New figures show continuation of racially disproportionate use of stop and search.
BLM protests

Black Lives Matter and the Right to Protest

Looking back at the BLM marches, it’s clear that the largest anti-racist protests in over a century should be celebrated – not used as an excuse to extend police powers, take away our freedoms and further entrench institutional racism.
Public Order Bill

Joint Briefing on the Public Order Bill for the House of Lords Report Stage

We have joined 74 organisations to urge parliamentarians to defend protest rights and support amendments to mitigate the Public Order Bill’s worst effects.
Policing Bill

UK: Dark day for civil liberties as 'deeply-authoritarian' Policing Bill passed by Lords

The controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was finally passed on 26 April 2022. Amnesty International UK’s CEO said: “The Policing Bill is in direct conflict with the values of freedom and liberty that this government claims to uphold."
Public Order Bill

Briefing on the Public Order Bill for the House of Lords Committee Stage

The UK government is proposing a Public Order Bill that would introduce further excessive restrictions on the rights to protest. Ahead of the Bill’s Committee Stage debate in the House of Lords, we urge all Peers to oppose the Bill in its entirety.
Public Order Bill

Amnesty International UK - Public Order Bill Briefing (Lords Second Reading)

We have analysed the Public Order Bill and it's provisions. We urge Parliamentarians to oppose the Bill in its entirety. This Bill is too repressive, too broad, and too vague.Protest is a human right- the Public Order Bill is incompatible with the UK's international obligations.
Public Order Bill

Queen's Speech: 'Systematic gutting' of key legal protections condemned

During the Queen’s Speech (10 May 2022), the UK Government announced it's Public Order Bill. This is a renewed attempt to push through highly authoritarian anti-protest measures.

UK: Letter from leading rights groups warn Government of 'chilling effect' on protests

46 organisations sign on letter calling on Prime Minister to immediately reverse the recent crackdown on the right to protest