Centres as hosts

Schemes to support human rights defenders are often hosted by centres within universities, rather than departments. Centres are frequently interdisciplinary and can have a sectoral focus on issues such as human rights, social justice, international development, environmental justice, and so on. This ‘in-betweenness’ extends beyond interdisciplinarity to a less embedded status within university procedures and bureaucracies (see the earlier University of the Western Cape entry, describing the Research Group designation as a regulatory ‘grey zone’).

As a result, centres can be more nimble and flexible. Some centres see themselves as a kind of ‘NGO within the university’ and operate with a specific mandate to lead on community engagement and activist agendas. Larger departments and faculties, where it is harder to generate consensus on politically charged issues, may consciously or unconsciously delegate such activity to a centre. As a result, entities such as centres are likely to be the entry point linking universities on the one hand and civil society and human rights defenders on the other.

It should also be noted that the status of centres brings certain vulnerabilities, as their activities may not be understood by departments and the wider university, and may require repeated negotiation and justification.