Amnesty International USA urges university administrations across the United States of America to safeguard and facilitate all students’ right to peacefully and safely protest or counter protest on their campuses.
Protests in support of Palestinian rights in and around college campuses have been met with obstructive and repressive responses by university administrations. Instead of facilitating and protecting their students’ right to protest, universities’ administrations have gone to great lengths to quash it, even involving local authorities and demanding arrests, while suspending students who engage in peaceful demonstrations.
“Institutions of higher learning are key in helping students understand and claim their human rights. Any steps taken to silence, harass, threaten, or otherwise intimidate those who gather peacefully to protest and speak out is a violation of their rights,” said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. “Becoming a student does not mean leaving the right to protest at the university gates.”
Academic freedom is central to the right to education under international law, according to Amnesty International. Administrations have a responsibility to foster an atmosphere that allows diverse viewpoints, but also to ensure that all students are able to engage in such discussions. Campus activism is a crucial component of that freedom and discussion. Schools and universities should ensure that…
