A journalist exposes corruption. An Indigenous leader defends their community’s land. An environmental activist raises the alarm on devastating pollution. Then comes a lawsuit. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are designed to intimidate, exhaust and silence people who speak out on issues that matter to society. On 16 September, UN Human Rights presented a report during the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, examining their impact on human rights.
The report was prepared following a request from the Council in Resolution 56/7 and draws on discussions held during an expert workshop organized on 28 May 2025.
At the expert workshop, a representative of UN Human Rights held that the use of SLAPPs constitutes an abusive instrumentalization of judicial systems. They not only distort the purpose of legal proceedings; they transform courts from instruments of justice into tools of repression.
see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/strategic-lawsuits-against-public-participation-slapps/
In their first session of the workshop, centered on the impact of these strategic lawsuits on journalists, journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown spoke from her personal experience. Brown said that she had been the target of multiple strategic lawsuits against public participation, regarding her work on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
The scandal involved theft and laundering of more than 4.5 billion US dollars from wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad into American financial institutions. The brave reporting led to the conviction of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on money laundering and abuse of power charges in 2022.
Unfortunately, the case also had consequences for the reporters. Two Malaysian business publications were suspended for three months, and two Australian journalists were detained and deported from Malaysia.
She was subject to intimidation by letters which alleged that her reporting amounted to libel, defamation, and an invasion of privacy. In 2017, a lawsuit on her reporting on a Malaysian political party led to lengthy proceedings ultimately depleted her pension and put her family at financial risk.
Protesters hold placards, banners and shout slogans to protest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 08 August 2015. © EPA/AHMAD YUSNI
Her case is a clear example of the use of SLAPPs to suppress the work of investigative journalists, the tense relationship between litigants and media freedoms, and emphasizes a need for reform. Brown was interviewed by UN Human Rights in May 2024, on her experience reporting on environmental violations and corruptions in Malaysia.
Irene Khan, the former Special Rapporteur on promotion and protection of right to freedom of opinion and expression, said these lawsuits occur frequently because they are a subtle form of repression than overt physical attacks. In many cases, they are effective at silencing dissent and often succeed to bankrupt or deter defendants.
Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, agreed that this is a misuse of the legal system predominantly by large corporations: 474 lawsuits have been initiated by private actors since 2015, and 68 percent involved criminal charges.
Satterthwaite outlined recommendations to put an end to this abuse of legislation: Judges must be trained to identify and discuss these lawsuits properly. Bar associations must develop ethical guidance to sanction lawyers who misuse the legal system. States must enact legislation to counter the use of such lawsuits and decriminalize defamation where appropriate.
The expert workshop also examined ways to counter SLAPPs.
Nikhil Dutta, Senior Legal Advisor at the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, noted that responses designed to counter such lawsuits had been enacted in numerous jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union.
Other approaches to solve these blatant human rights violations outlined in the expert workshop include enacting protections for public participation through legislation, empowering courts to dismiss abusive proceedings, establishing public funds for defense against SLAPPs, and establishing punitive damages on entities that file these lawsuits.
UN Human Rights has released a briefer on SLAPPs, a comprehensive summary of the report and the impact of these lawsuits on human rights, civic space, and victims. It suggests measures that States should take to tackle SLAPPs, including the decriminalization of defamation; the adoption of anti-SLAPPs laws; the possibility for courts to dismiss SLAPPs early; and the need to compensate victims and penalize abusive claimants.
The message is clear: states and others need to make it easy for people to speak up, to influence decisions that affect them, and to hold state institutions accountable. They must do what is in their power to ensure people do not face legal intimidation for defending human rights.
Freedom of expression and opinion is a precious good critical for protecting all human rights, and the law must not become a weapon to silence those who speak out.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2026/09/lawsuits-silence-those-who-speak-out
