USA: Free speech on campus needs to be protected, not attacked, say experts

GENEVA  - Human rights experts* today expressed grave concern at the massive crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protests at various university campuses across the United States of America.

“The banning and attacks on student protests are a grave violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression guaranteed by international human rights law, and must stop immediately,” said the experts, who addressed their concerns to the US government in a previous communication.

Across the United States, students have organised anti-war encampments and peaceful protests to express solidarity with Palestinian civilians in Gaza and to oppose their universities’ affiliations with companies profiting from the conflict and occupation. Many of these encampments have been removed by police upon the request of the university administrations, sometimes with the use of force leading to hospitalisation of protesters. Such actions appear disproportionate and lack legal justification.

Students report facing severe reprisals for their participation in the protests, including summons or arrests, deportation from the United States, expulsion and suspension from their studies, loss of university housing, undue surveillance, inability to graduate and other punitive measures that could significantly impact their liberty, health, education and future careers.

“We urge the academic authorities to ensure that the students are not punished or treated unfairly for exercising their fundamental human rights,” the experts said, calling for those who have been expelled to be readmitted after the summer break.

The United States must ensure that freedom of peaceful assembly is respected, as required by Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the United States, and by Article 5 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Limitations need to be legitimate, necessary, and proportionate. Private campuses have a responsibility to respect human rights under the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights.

“Peaceful protests and rights movements need to be facilitated as part of democratic processes,” they added.

Noting accusations from certain US politicians and university authorities that the protests are antisemitic, the experts strongly rejected these characterisations.

“It is inaccurate and unjustified to bluntly label all peaceful demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian people or calls for a ceasefire in Gaza or criticism of Israel’s policies as antisemitic,” they said. “We strongly denounce antisemitism as a serious form of racial hatred and intolerance and urge authorities to properly investigate and take effective measures against it in line with international human rights law.”

“Political pressure exerted on university administrators and academics to take certain positions and actions regarding these protests is clear interference with academic freedom – a cornerstone of democracy,” the experts said.

They were concerned that the attacks, threats, reprisals, stigmatisation and accusations of antisemitism could have a chilling effect on the diversity of views, affecting academic freedom on campus, in and outside classrooms.

“We call on the government and university administrations to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and the right to defend rights, in line with international human rights law, and create a safe, enabling environment in which everyone can express their views freely on matters of public interest,” the experts said.