International Workshop: Guidelines for Universities Hosting Human Rights Defenders
A year-long process of co-production culminated in this three-day event, from 3 to 5 July, designed to discuss and make final changes to these guidelines.
The guidelines were developed under the auspices of CAHR's UNESCO Chair, in the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Expansion of Political Space.
The aim of the Guidelines is to enhance the role of universities in providing international support for, and solidarity with, HRDs working on contexts characterised by risk. Such engagement can take various forms, including visiting fellowships, residencies for HRDs, temporary relocation schemes, international exchanges, scholarships, or the longer-term hosting of exiled activist communities.
Universities, NGOs, UN agencies and funders attended the event, with university representation from Argentina, Canada, Fiji, the Philippines, South Africa, the UK and the USA. A two-day working meeting on the text of the Guidelines was followed by a soft launch event with input from the Open Society Foundations, a representative of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human HRDs and the Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO.