What concerns might your university have and how will you mitigate them?
Universities may have concerns that supporting international human rights defenders poses a political or reputational risk, or there may be apprehension about financial sustainability (see section on Funding). You can begin to address these concerns by holding discussions with key stakeholders in the early stages of the process, and also as the programme continues to evolve.
Managing political risk
Evolve/manage levels of risk: For example, start by hosting human rights defenders working in lower risk contexts and manage the risk levels if hosting groups of defenders i.e. make sure cohorts contain both low and high risk defenders. If tensions rise in the university about the scheme, revert to hosting less high risk individuals for a period.
Share the risk: Are there ways in which the risk can be shared, either within the university or with external partners? For example, could human rights defenders that might be considered ‘risky’ by one university be referred to another where the risk might be assessed differently?
Communicate about risk: For example, make it clear that asylum claims are not the aim of the scheme, but may occur over time.
(See also the discussion of risk in the Programme Criteria section)
Private universities
The political and financial priorities of private universities are not always compatible with the traditional values of higher education and may also deter them from supporting human rights defenders. However, private universities can also have greater freedom and flexibility, which they can leverage to support social justice and the protection of activists. For example, Jesuit universities in Latin America have a longstanding tradition of social responsibility and of providing shelter to those at risk, and often have strong social justice and human rights programmes. In recent times, the Network of Jesuit Universities in Latin America has drawn attention to violations of human rights and academic freedom in Nicaragua and Venezuela, as well as offering direct economic support to universities in both countries. Jesuit universities in El Salvador and Guatemala have hosted staff and students from the University of Central America in Nicaragua since it was seized by the Nicaraguan government, and Jesuit universities in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have hosted academics from Venezuela.
More information
Section on raising awareness of hosting programmes in CARA’s Supporting persecuted academics: A guide for higher education institutions (pages 42-45).
‘Building support: events and other activities’ in SAR’s How to host – A handbook for higher education partners (page 10).