Incidents of harassment, surveillance, threats and intimidation at United Nations (UN) events, including the recent COP28 climate conference in Dubai, said to have created an atmosphere of fear. Indigenous campaigners, human rights defenders and climate activists say they have been silenced for fear of reprisals. Activists and campaigners say they are increasingly afraid to speak out on pressing issues for fear of reprisals from governments or fossil fuel industries. "In the last few years, we have seen indigenous representatives being filmed by people associated with state institutions making human rights statements at UN events, or being photographed simply for being at a UN event," said Lola García-Alix, senior advisor on global governance for the International Indigenous Affairs Working Group.