You don’t need to look too far back in your memory, or the archives of the newspapers, to see that many violent protests (such as the Poll Tax Riots) make the headlines for entirely the wrong reasons. The right to protest peacefully is a fundamental part of our society. We tend to forget that many of the human rights we cherish today are a direct result of protests by ordinary people who were prepared to go onto the streets to make their feelings known.
If you believe your right to peaceful protest has been restricted or violated, you can describe what happened using our free Rights Situation Checker.
Peaceful Protests
It is a sad fact that many of the groups that make a point of ensuring that their protests are peaceful tend not to hit the headlines as much as they deserve. However, they have still been instrumental in bringing about sweeping changes to the UK law and ensuring that we never lose any part of the freedom we have.
The most famous in my mind is the Suffragette Movement in England during the Victorian period. We cannot forget that they brought about the right for women to vote – without them we may still be living in a patriarchal society.
Pressure groups such as Liberty, Amnesty International and the British Institute of Human Rights have campaigned peacefully to ensure that the human rights we now enjoy made it onto the law books. Some groups have even managed to erase large parts of the debt placed on third world countries in a bid to ease suffering. So we can see that home-grown peaceful protest groups are instrumental in bringing about the recognition of international human rights and international freedom.
Describe what has happened and find out which UK human rights protections apply and what you can do.
Try our Rights Situation Checker free, here on this site →The Human Rights Act
1998 was an important year for the development of our human rights; this is due to the completion and acceptance into our law of The Human Rights Act 1998. The included a specific right to engage in peaceful protest or ‘non-violent direct action’.
Essentially the Act means that the Government, or any public authority, cannot stop you from organising or taking part in a public protest, provided that the there is no harm to other people or property. This includes the person, group or thing you are protesting against, the Police or any rival protestors.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
What is Non-Violent Direct Action?
This is any protest that gets your point across without descending into a riot of violence, blood-shed and mayhem. All protests get publicity but those that are carried on in a dignified manner tend to get the best attention from the media; and the greatest sympathy for your cause. For instance:
- Truck-drivers organising, and getting authority for, a blockade to protest against fuel prices.
- You could organise a ‘sit-in’ – this is a protest where all of those involved sit on the floor in a prescribed location.
- You could get permission from your council to have a stall in your town centre, to tell people about the cause you are fighting for and gain valuable support.
In addition to this you could organise a petition to be sent to Parliament or arrange a protest march. Many of the things you could do will require the consent of your local authority to go ahead but they cannot withhold consent just because they don’t want you to speak out.
So the Police Can’t Stop Us?
Just because you have the freedom to protest does not mean that the Police cannot stop you, but again, there has to be a valid reason; such as the possibility of damage to property, serious public disorder or unacceptable disruption to the community around you.
They can also stop you if they think you would become a target for terrorism or if they believe that what you are protesting for is against the larger public interest or could incite racial hatred.
In this way you have the freedom to protest but the community has the right to freedom from danger and discrimination while you are doing so. As long you make sure that all participants have the same peaceful event in mind then there is no reason that you should not make your feelings known.
I returned to the UK in 2013 and we immediately applied for a new fiancee visa for her. This was refused on the grounds that insufficient evidence of an actual relationship had been supplied with the application bundle - a complete nonsense statement - and AFTER being granted a visa initially, whilst I was not even LIVING in the UK.
We appealed, and in the appeal bundle, included over 500 pages of communications, text conversations, phone call records, video call records, money transfers etc etc, dating back to the day after we met in the US while she was working there. FIVE HUNDRED PAGES!
It has now been 24 weeks since the appeal was lodged and we have hear (after much chasing on my part) that the appeal will not even be heard for another 7 weeks. The ECO that initially refused the visa, and to whom the appeal bundle was supplied, has not sent any documentation to the appeal panel, despite having a dealing date by which to do so (this deadline expired 2 weeks ago, at the time of writing this post).
By the time the appeal has been heard, it will have been 4 years since I last saw my fiancee. This has been a horror story from start to finish, but we continue to speak three or four times every day, every week, every month that passes.
My question - If this appeal is also refused, do I have grounds to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights under any existing clauses or laws?
We will NOT give up on this - if it takes another 4 years, we will not give up.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Ask About Human Rights a question
Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.
You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.
Comments are moderated before publication.