IFEX

The Network for Education and Academic Rights mobilizes communities to exert pressure on repressive regimes.

In many parts of the world, being a college or university academic or student is not a safe thing to be. The same holds true for elementary and secondary school teachers and, increasingly, for students. This is the reality of life in the first part of the twenty-first century. The chilling fact is that killings, imprisonment, abuse, and harassment for those in education are on the increase and becoming a way of life in many countries.

This disturbing trend was the reason behind the founding last year of the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR). Inspired by a meeting called by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), NEAR was launched to aid the rapid transfer of information on a global basis. It alerts those able to take action when they need to protest to governments and international agencies. It helps to bring home to the leaders in the countries with the worst records that the international community is closely watching their actions.

The case of Saad Eddin Ibrahim, professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo, is just one example. He was sentenced to seven years in jail with hard labor because of the government's displeasure with his research results. Six of his colleagues received terms ranging from two to five years.

As director of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Developmental Research, Ibrahim was charged with embezzling European Union (EU) funds awarded for a project to promote voter awareness among Egyptian women. The EU insisted that it had no grounds for believing its funds had been misused and, together with European governments, made direct statements to the Egyptian authorities stating that the charge was mistaken. Ibrahim's "crime," according to the prosecution lawyer, was that his research led to suggestions that elections in Egypt were unfair. The organization Human Rights Watch reported that the trial of Ibrahim, who holds dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship, contravened international standards. The appeal against the sentences of Ibrahim and his colleagues was held in early February. After human rights organizations, including NEAR, made considerable representations, the appeals court ordered a retrial. The case is likely to be heard later this year.

It is sad but true that news about threats to universities often does not hit the headlines. How many in the worldwide academic community heard that nineteen students were killed in Ethiopia last year after protesting the strong police presence on their campus? Amnesty International reported that security forces used excessive force against other demonstrators as well.

In addition, two Ethiopian academics who addressed students in a university seminar about academic freedom were imprisoned. Mesfin Woldermariam and Berhanu Mega were released only after a sustained campaign. NEAR arranged for the British ambassador in Addis Ababa to visit Woldermariam in prison. I had the pleasure of speaking to him on his recent visit to London. He and Mega, who still face a trial, are very brave men. But the truth is that they spoke in the same way that any academic would have done about the importance of freedom of expression and the pursuit of knowledge. Yet their continuing freedom is now at stake.

In recent years, whole university systems have come under threat. Such was the case in Serbia, where under pressure from former president Slobodan Milosevic, the parliament passed laws depriving faculty members of their longstanding right to participate in the selection of rectors, faculty deans, and governing boards and effectively canceled the contracts of all professors and other teaching staff. Countless lecturers and professors were later sacked, and numerous politicians joined the governing bodies of the University of Belgrade.

As well as these large-scale occurrences, there are countless situations in which individuals are detained while trying to leave their country, held by police, or dismissed from their posts for expressing views opposing the ruling party. One academic was detained recently leaving a Middle Eastern country. He faced imprisonment for having criticized the country's human rights record at an international conference. Other cases have occurred in Indonesia, Burma, Malaysia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Brazil, and Burundi-and those are just a small range of countries in which people in education have been at risk. Many other professions face the same threat from totalitarian regimes. Universities, however, are often at the forefront of any human rights conflict-which is as it should be if basic educational values are to be upheld.

So how is NEAR organized? It is funded by UNESCO, with other grants being sought worldwide, and its raison d'etre is to assist groups like the AAUP that already promote educational rights. NEAR works vigorously to improve information transfer among those best able to take action, with member organizations posting alerts and other information on the NEAR Web site, which is now under construction. Through the opportunities provided by the Internet and other communications technologies, the network develops links with nongovernmental organizations, trade unions, professional bodies, decision makers, educators, and the public, making information vital to defending free expression available and accessible.

Founding members of NEAR were the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association of University Teachers, the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Education International, Human Rights Watch, and the Scholars at Risk Network. Representatives from over forty organizations, including the AAUP, attended the launch of NEAR last June. Located next to CARA in London, NEAR will be building its list of member organizations throughout the world. Links with Africa, Asia, and South America will be a vital part of the network's development plan.

The network already has close ties with the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). Formed in 1992, IFEX has transformed the global exchange of information about abuses against the rights of journalists. It now has more than fifty member organizations throughout the world, and its Web site receives more than 60,000 "hits" a week. The alert system it deploys brings together a worldwide group of interested and concerned organizations that can quickly bring pressure on governments and international bodies.

The United Nations' human rights commissioner, Mary Robinson, stated last year that universities, colleges, and schools have a vital role to play in the development of human rights. NEAR will be working to make certain that such rights are upheld. The contribution that you, as a member of the AAUP, make to advancing knowledge and scholarship is held in the highest esteem throughout the world. The research and teaching that are undertaken in your country are the envy of every university system that I have ever known. I seek your help, knowing the values that you hold dear to your heart.

Right now, an international campaign is under way to continue pressuring Egypt in the case of Saad Eddin Ibrahim. University teacher and human rights organizations have made many representations already. We ask that you regularly review the NEAR Web site for details about what you can do to assist this campaign and others throughout the world.

John Akker is executive director of the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR). For additional information about NEAR, visit its Web site or send an e-mail message to .

Copyright American Association of University Professors May/Jun 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved