Thematic Research and Reports

In dozens of countries, academics continue to be targeted when they publicly criticize government authorities, are active in political opposition parties or citizens' groups, or seek to investigate subjects deemed "politically sensitive" by the authorities. As George P. Hagan has noted: "Universities and academics owe it to themselves to minimize their political involvement. But it is hard to expect academics to remain politically neutral when their rights as citizens might well be at stake if they remained aloof from direct and active political involvement." When academics do speak out, their colleagues should defend their right to do so. The fact that relations between the university and the government are delicate, or that the government pays the salaries of university staff, should not be an excuse for inaction.

In many cases, it is not merely an individual student or academic who is targeted, but the university itself. In principle, the university is an institution open to all on the basis of merit, and should serve as an important intellectual resource not only to governments and industry, but also to individuals and interests independent of the state. In practice, attacks on campus-based critics and politically motivated government interventions often threaten to turn the university into an institution that exclusively serves the interests of state authorities.

International human rights standards offer academics a principled basis for resisting authoritarian political pressures and defending the institutional autonomy necessary for academic excellence. The most directly relevant right is freedom of expression, which is defined in international treaties to include "freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers." This is the bedrock of academic freedom. A university fulfills its mission when academics are not forced to support an official line, an economic agenda, or a political ideology, but rather are free to use their talents to advance human knowledge and understanding. Freedom of expression is also a core civil and political right. There can be no liberty and no meaningful citizenship where individuals are denied the basic right to ask questions and seek information about what is going on in their own society, and to share their ideas and views with others.

Although pressures to limit critical inquiry and academic debate can come from diverse quarters, the arbitrary exercise of government power continues to represent the most significant threat to the academic community. Because the great majority of universities around the world are public institutions or are dependent on government funding, and because such institutions typically are viewed by governments as "prime instruments of national purpose," governments have considerable power to influence what takes place on campus and an incentive to wield that power. Although one might have hoped that abuses would end with the cold war, experience has proven otherwise.

To date, international attention to the right to free expression has understandably emphasized artistic freedom and freedom of the press, essential attributes of an open, democratic society. Relatively little attention, however, has been paid to the crucial role played by education in preserving and giving meaning to the right, and, in particular, to the role of the university as an institution dedicated to inquiry, information and ideas.

Academic freedom research at Human Rights Watch in 1998-1999 will focus on this important nexus between academic freedom, free expression, and the development of civil society. The first product of this research is the 117-page Human Rights Watch report to be issued in August 1998 titled "Academic Freedom in Indonesia: Dismantling Soeharto-Era Barriers."

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