Today marks the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Around the world, leaders will honour that moment as the triumph of freedom over tyranny, a milestone in the long arc toward justice. But while dignitaries commemorate, another truth remains: today, new walls of oppression rise, and freedom struggles persist, demanding attention and, more importantly, actions.
The Berlin Wall didn’t fall on its own, suddenly. It was the result of years of turmoil following decades of oppression. The groundwork for this swift revolution was laid as the Soviet Union began to weakendue to internal economic crises, the Soviet-Afghan war, and the devastating Chernobyl disaster. A wave of freedom spread across Soviet-controlled regions, toppling dictators in countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Baltic states, Czechoslovakia, and ultimately East Germany.
This was a generational revolution. Yet, it would not have been possible without external forces that gradually eroded the power and legitimacy of the Communist bloc. Western economic sanctions, diplomatic pressures and cultural embargoes created a growing desire for change within the Soviet Union itself, culminating in Gorbachev’s 1985 policies of openness. These reforms set the stage for 1989 to become a year of largely peaceful liberation across Eastern Europe.
External pressure has repeatedly proven effective, even when international civil society and grassroots movements had to pull the weight in the face of their criminal-complicit governments. From 1962, the year of the first UN resolution calling for sanctions, to the late 1980ies South Africa’s apartheid regime avoided heavy sanctions and isolation due to Western countries’ backing, which regularly blocked any meaningful action to end the system of apartheid, including at the United Nations. However, by the late 1970s, the growing power and resilience of the global anti-apartheid movement made such positions untenable. Countries that previously supported the apartheid regime (such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States) were pressured into imposing sanctions on South Africa’s white government. While liberation came from South Africans organising, mobilising, risking their lives, the anti-apartheid’s movement actions over almost 30 years led to sanctions and boycotts that impacted South African society and reputation. The rest is history.
And this history has shown how movements can push governments to disentangle from oppressive regimes, and in turn, this can support the liberation of those living under tyranny. History proves that we aren’t powerless in the face of atrocities.
For those in countries not directly under occupation or invasion, for those whose lives are not at risk, there is no excuse to ignore this playbook. Today, there are more invasions, genocidal acts, and grave crimes being committed and reported live than ever before.
We can and must take action to support freedom struggles, those being attacked or under occupation, and ensure justice triumphs. As too many world leaders drag their feet at best and are complicit with oppressors at worst it’s time for all citizens who believe in humanity to step up.
The tide has started moving. Entire cities are submerged by waves of protestors standing in solidarity with Palestine, demanding arms embargoes, a permanent ceasefire, the end of occupation and apartheid. Countries, mainly from the so-called global South, have led the way in pushing the United Nations to act, stopped ships with good supporting the genocide from docking, denounced the hypocrisy of mainly Western countries and taken Israel to court. People across the planet have marched, advocated, and donated to support Ukrainians’ future: United24, Ukraine’s Presidency grassroots donations fund, received $750 million from people worldwide.
With global solidarity movements stronger than ever, it’s time to ensure cities, nations, and intergovernmental organisations follow through. The BDS movement has for many years pushed cities, as well as private business and cultural organizations, to cut ties and sanction Israel’s apartheid policies. While the fight is still long ahead, they have shown that not all institutions are deaf to citizens’ cries for decency and compassion. Not yet, at least.
Walking in the footsteps of those who came before us, we at Atlas are launching a campaign to push our cities, countries and institutions to declare Freedom Emergency Declarations in response to the escalating threat to freedom and survival posed by oppressive regimes. From Gaza to Ukraine, entire populations endure grave crimes—genocide, apartheid, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. Through these declarations, they will commit to immediate, decisive actions to sever all support for these regimesThis will of course concern Israel and Russia, for their ongoing genocide of Palestinians, and invasion of Lebanon and Ukraine, amongst many crimes. But not only.
Those declarations will not be empty words when adopted. They would lead the way to establishing Freedom Zones within their jurisdiction, free from complicity in these abuses. The Climate Emergency Declarations, the inspiration for such measures, have shown the way by reaching 2,364 jurisdictions in 40 countries, covering a staggering 1 billion citizens worldwide. These declarations often catalyzed policy changes, ambitious emissions targets, and community-driven projects. It’s been estimated that in the UK only, thanks to the declarations, 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 will not be emitted into the atmosphere.
Of course, this is not a one-size-fits-all measure: some crimes, such as gender-apartheid by the Taliban, require specific and targeted measures. Not all cities and countries are tangled with such regimes the same way. Those Freedom Emergency Declarations are however a clear sign. As Chris Sidoti said at the United Nations last week, “The onus has now shifted to those that are involved in any way with the state of Israel, to them to examine those relationships and ask the question: is this in any way aiding and assisting the maintenance of the unlawful occupation...". Freedom Emergency Declarations can help in making this happen.
The flame of liberty still burns bright, here and there. On this Freedom Day, let’s turn it into a fire. Don’t let November 9th be just an anniversary. Instead, look forward. 35 years forward. Imagine yourself in 2059. Imagine your grandchildren asking you: what did you do in 2025 to stop Israel’s genocide against Palestinians? When it was invading Lebanon? What did you do during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? What did you do when civilians were getting raped and famine was reaping through Sudan?
It’s time for a Freedom Emergency to be declared, everywhere. It’s up to us to make it happen!