The restorative process for bringing accountability to Roger Hallam’s comments in Die Zeit and Der Spiegel concerning the Holocaust is progressing. This is an update in the spirit of transparency.

There were serious and far reaching impacts of Roger Hallam’s comments and the restorative process aims to address these impacts in a way which lives the Principles and Values of Extinction Rebellion UK.

As part of the process, 11 people, representing groups affected by the comments, came together in Bristol on Sunday 15th December for a session run by an independent facilitator (list of these groups are at the foot of this statement). Agreement has not been reached on next steps, and in the meantime Roger Hallam is continuing to pause engagement with the media, and has made his own statement, which you can read here.

The restorative process will continue in the new year

There are some who may feel the process should be swift and decisive.  The project team who are working on the restorative process want to underline that due to the wide ranging and complex nature of this situation involving many individuals and groups from around the world, it is important to have a thorough and robust process, rather than a fast process. It is furthermore recognised there is a need to look at both the immediate impact of Roger Hallam’s initial comments and also a wider exploration regarding power within Extinction Rebellion UK. 

As we move forward there will be further updates on the process of restoration and change we are undergoing.

We regret that we are unable to put a definitive timescale on the process outcome at this point, but commit to regular updates as we progress.

More details on the specifics of the process until this point can be found in our last statement.

Guiding key principles for the first restorative meeting were:

1. To create conditions which enable representatives of those most impacted to feel safe enough to participate freely.
2. Restorative processes usually start with those closest to the actual incident itself and then work outwards from there.

The groups represented at the initial restorative process in Bristol on 15th December were:

• XR Germany
• XR Jews
• XR Rainbow Rebellion
• XR Liberation
• XR International Support Team (IST)
• XR UK Media & Messaging 
• XR UK Regenerative Culture
• XR UK Guardianship & Visioning 

Roger Hallam attended on the 15th along with a person who was supporting Roger.