Praised for Speaking Up, Punished for Dissent: Young Activists Face a Global Crackdown

The growth of Gen Z mobilisation reflects frustrations rooted in everyday life: economic exclusion, corruption and a deepening loss of trust in traditional political institutions.

Young people demanding fairer economies, honest government and a say in their future are helping drive historic movements for democracy. Their willingness to challenge those in power has also exposed them to State violence, surveillance and legal restrictions that can make organising dangerous or impossible, a UN expert has warned.

Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, describes this contradiction in her report to the UN General Assembly, informed by consultations with more than 500 youth-led organisations and activists across nearly 100 countries. Governments and international institutions celebrate youth engagement, she says, but systematically suppress young people whose criticism challenges them.

A demand for change becomes grounds for suspicion

The growth of Gen Z mobilisation reflects frustrations rooted in everyday life: economic exclusion, corruption and a deepening loss of trust in traditional political institutions. Romero's report also examines activism beyond protests, recognising the many ways young people organise around their experiences, values and concerns.

"Youth activism is deeply personal, political, values-based and rooted in lived experience. The youth have become our guardians of conscience," she said. Public responses often dismiss young people as naïve or lazy, with authorities portraying their demands as evidence of foreign manipulation. Movements that gather support can face national security and anti-terrorism laws used to recast peaceful protest as rioting and activism as extremism or treason.

Security forces have increasingly deployed excessive force, live ammunition, less lethal weapons and mass arbitrary detention against youth and student protesters. For those taking part, demanding accountability can bring the risk of injury, arrest or prosecution.

Educational institutions are becoming heavily securitised environments, where police violence, surveillance and disciplinary penalties restrict the freedom to question, debate and organise.

Digital organising meets surveillance and exclusion

Decentralised organising and digital platforms give young people ways to connect without depending on established political hierarchies. States and private actors have responded with invasive artificial intelligence, biometric tracking, network shutdowns and shadow bans that reduce the visibility of online content. These practices can make activists afraid to speak or participate, narrowing civic space even without a formal ban on their work.

The report warns against blanket age-based social media bans because they can take away young people's primary space for civic engagement. Restrictions intended to govern platform access can also prevent them from discussing public affairs and organising collectively.

Offline rules create further obstacles. Rigid registration laws leave informal youth groups unable to access conventional funding or open bank accounts, limiting their ability to sustain activities. People under 18 face legal barriers to independently forming or leading associations, denying them opportunities to organise around decisions affecting their lives.

Participation must give young people real influence

Romero calls for binding power-sharing and mandatory youth participation in decision-making, replacing consultations that invite young people to contribute without giving them meaningful influence over the result. Her recommendations address States, educational institutions, digital platforms and civil society. They include protecting informal collectives' right to organise, decriminalising legitimate activism and removing paternalistic restrictions that treat age as a reason to deny agency.

Safe, inclusive civic spaces also require protecting peaceful student assembly on and off campus, respecting academic freedom, and ending arbitrary disciplinary sanctions for political expression.

Governments must ensure accountability and reparations for human rights violations, including the chilling effects of surveillance that discourage participation. Romero also calls on States to hold private companies accountable for inadequate designs that affect rights and to provide mental health support to address activist burnout.

"Protecting freedom of peaceful assembly and association rights means recognising young people not as passive beneficiaries of democracy, but as active participants in building it."