Jean-Paul Lehners. Human Rights and Higher Education. Belval, 5 November 2015

Transcription

1 Jean-Paul Lehners Human Rights and Higher Education Belval, 5 November 2015 In December 2011 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the declaration on the right to human rights education. The text contains a certain number of concepts that can be useful for our discussion: equal opportunities, a spirit of participation, inclusion and responsibility, equality, full account of vulnerable groups, freedom of expression, the right to information, the prevention of HR violations. In Article 2 paragraph 2 it is said that Human rights education and training encompasses: a. Education about human rights, which includes providing knowledge and understanding of human rights norms and principles, the values that underpin them and the mechanisms for their protection; b. Education through human rights, which includes learning and teaching in a way that respects the rights of both educators and learners; c. Education for human rights, which includes empowering persons to enjoy and exercise their rights and to respect and uphold the rights of others. 1

2 A second text is the Venice Statement on the Right to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and its Applications. It has been elaborated by experts meetings, the last one in Venice in July 2009 organised by UNESCO and the European Inter University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC). It identifies some conflicting trends, for example in the area of food production, medicine and advances in information and communication technologies. The latter have widened the digital gap and facilitated infringements of privacy, incitement to hatred and censorship and thus affected the full spectrum of human rights as well as cultural diversity. Among the fundamental principles it is mentioned that A human-rights based approach requires that science and its applications are consistent with fundamental human rights principles such as non-discrimination, gender equality, accountability and participation, and that particular attention should be paid to the needs of disadvantages and marginalized groups. A third text is a plan of action for the second phase ( ) of the World Program for HR education. The first phase was concerned with the integration of HR education in the primary and secondary school systems. The second phase focuses on HR education in Higher Education and in HR training for civil servants, law enforcement officials and the military. In Art. 21 the strategy is defined as follows: While the enjoyment of academic freedom requires the autonomy of higher education institutions, higher education, as a public good, must be a matter of responsibility and economic support of all governments. 2

3 And in Art. 22 human rights education is understood as a process that includes human rights through education, ensuring that all the components and processes of learning, including curricula, materials, methods and training are conducive to the learning of human rights, and human rights in education, ensuring respect for the human rights of all actors, and the practice of rights, within the higher education system. I will limit myself to these texts. If speaking on human rights education we should however not forget the multiple initiatives of the Council of Europe in this domain. I present you now the results of an overview about the HR dimension in universities. My sample is biased and not representative. I asked my colleagues who are participating in the European Master in Human Rights and Democratisation and the members of AHRI (Association of Human Rights Institutes) about the Human Rights dimension in their institutions. I received written answers from 15 universities: Maastricht, Utrecht, Bochum, Vienna, Abo, Padova, Deusto/Bilbao, Leuven, London Metropolitan, Essex, Ljubljana, Brno, Budapest, Dublin and Galway. I had also discussions with colleagues and friends from the Master Programme in September 2010 in Venice. Interesting for me was that one of my colleagues, who works at a HR institution in his university, never thought to know if his university had a HR dimension. Here are some results: 4 out of 15 say that there is no HR dimension in their institution. 3

4 In one institution HR are mentioned in the statute of the university (Padova). This university also has an anti (sexual and moral) harassment code of conduct, a committee on equal opportunity, a commission on disability and a university ombudsman. A colleague insists on the mainstreaming of HR in all the faculties of his university. Some answer that there are HR notions in several of the University documents, as for example social responsibility, social justice, equal treatment, respect, dignity, ethical norms, solidarity, freedom of thought and opinion, equality of men and women. In one Mission statement it is said: Special attention is paid to the personal dignity of human beings, to the protection of the weak and to justice and peace. One colleague mentions the activities undertaken by professors and students on specific occasions like the HR Day, the Day of anti-fascism. When HR are not mentioned in university agreements, the reason could be that they are already mentioned in the main documents of the university (mission statement, code of conduct, strategic plan) or simply that the law on higher education or the constitution are considered a sufficient standard for the university as a public institution. A last remark on my university, the University of Luxembourg. Our University was created ten years ago in In the Law of August 12, 2003 the HR are not mentioned, but among the fundamental principles we find the respect of the ideas of the others (respect de la pensée d autrui) (Art. 3 1 d). 4

5 Art. 26 creates the University Council who has as one of its missions to receive complaints from students and to install an ethics commission. Art. 30 is about academic freedom. Let us come to the mission statement. I had the honor and the burden to be the first vice-rector of our institution, and in this capacity I have written the draft of the Mission statement. This draft was accepted with only minor changes by the Board of Governors. The Mission statement says in Article 1: The University relays upon and defends the following values And among these values we have HR and Fundamental Rights. Furthermore the code of conduct for students and researchers has a general article on equal treatment and non discrimination, allows to join associations promoting students interests and free discussion and expression without being embarrassed except when fundamental rules of deontology are broken. After this brief excursion to my university I will come back to the general topic of Human Rights in Higher Education and formulate some recommendations. Recommendations When I say HR aspects, this does not necessarily mean that the concept of HR must be mentioned. It is already a progress if some rights are mentioned, as for example freedom of expression. A better approach would be the inclusion of a HR dimension in mission statements, codes of conduct, plans of action. 5

6 If a HR dimension shall exist within in international scientific cooperation, this HR dimension must exist in the different institutions participating in this exchange. The best approach to mainstream HR at a university or research center is to make it a transversal dimension concerning learning, research, management, service to the society. But mainstreaming must not be an excuse for doing nothing. Declaring HR includes having control mechanisms in order to check if these rights are really implemented or not. In bilateral agreements, joint research projects or memorandums of understanding there is a big advantage in introducing a paragraph on HR. The same is true for international networks. Institutions should be encouraged to reorient scientific research to meet the needs of vulnerable and marginalised people. Institutions should be encouraged to participate in elaborating more on the Right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. For example: Academic freedom, its potential and its limits; or the problematic link between intellectual property and HR. A last recommendation: Become members of associations promoting and protecting HR of teachers and researchers, for example Scholars at Risk or the International HR Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies. 6

7 An interesting proposal is elaborated by Scholars at Risk for standard inclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding on higher education values in institutional international higher education partnerships. It is based on a belief that increasing dialogue and understanding between equal partners to an international higher education exchange is the best and most sustainable way to promote creative, context-appropriate strategies for improving understanding and respect. The proposal refers to a lot of initiatives that have been taken in the last years in this field, for example by UNESCO, OECD, Council of Europe, IAU (International Association of Universities) and MCO (Magna Charta Observatory). The core values include equitable access, accountability, academic freedom, autonomy and social responsibility. 7