Published July 2023

By Paul Gready, University of York, Fiona Anciano, University of Western Cape, Boitumelo Papane, University of Western Cape, and Aaron Mushengyezi, Makerere University

Universities display ‘two faces’ (Bush & Salterelli, 2000) when it comes to the protection of human rights. They can foster or inhibit freedom of expression; provide ‘safe spaces’ yet be sites of violence; facilitate both the inclusion and exclusion of marginalised groups; and more broadly reflect, enhance, and ameliorate societal tensions. In their complexity and diversity, universities are likely to simultaneously play multiple, often contradictory, roles in relation to human rights. These qualities are exacerbated at a time when universities globally are experiencing pressures ranging from privatisation to enhanced government scrutiny and budget cuts, and demands from students for affordable education.

In this complex context, this Policy Brief draws on a research project that seeks to reunite universities with their third mission – after teaching and research – to address social, economic, and cultural challenges in society, through the lens of a particular concept: protection. Protection is here understood as the practices, mechanisms, or processes designed to prevent, reduce, or redress the risk of harm to individuals and groups.