Rector Van de Walle: “There is no threat”
He also reports that the university’s Board of Directors will communicate later today about the decisions regarding the screened collaborations with Israeli partners.
Van de Walle emphasizes that at Ghent University “one can speak freely at all times” and that threats against the organizers of the protest are “obviously not possible”.
But he adds: “The safety of students (and staff) is, as always, our starting point. Ghent University never gives permission to occupy buildings, but if this does happen, a general framework of agreements applies.”
You can read the letter in full below:
“The signatories of the open letter address the war violence in Gaza. It goes without saying that I too am concerned about the underlying problems in the region and their consequences as we see them to this day.
The signatories denounce university collaborations with Israel. I would like to explain the way in which Ghent University deals with collaborations with third parties.
Any new or renewed collaboration that Ghent University wishes to enter into with another university, company or research institute is subject to a thorough human rights test in advance. This checks whether:
- Human rights may be violated during activities.
- The research results can later be used for human rights violations.
- The partner may be involved in human rights violations.
In the event of a positive answer to one of the above questions, advice will be requested from the Human Rights Policy and Dual Use Research Committee of Ghent University. This committee investigates the case in depth and advises researchers and the board on the desirability of cooperation and on possible measures to limit the risk of human rights violations.
In addition, cooperation agreements concluded by Ghent University contain a human rights clause, which allows the cooperation to be terminated if there are clear indications that one of the parties is involved in a serious or systematic violation of human rights.
The clause is only applied as a last resort, after entering into a dialogue with the partner institution. Following the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza, Ghent University is of course also subjecting its (collaborations with) partners from that region to an investigation.
The Ghent University Board of Directors decided during its meeting of May 3, 2024 that the Ghent University policy on human rights will be maintained as it currently is, and that no deviation from the existing human rights policy will be applied with regard to 1 specific country, in case Israel.
During the same meeting, the Board of Directors also decided that Ghent University, noting that there is a social need for this, will communicate transparently about the positive and negative decisions regarding the screened collaborations with Israeli partners (since the implementation of the Ghent University human rights policy in 2018). That communication will take place later today, on Monday, May 6, 2024.
Finally, the open letter discusses threats against the initiators of the protest actions. That is of course not possible. At Ghent University you can speak freely at any time. In my communication to the initiators, I stated that the board of Ghent University never gives activists permission to occupy a building, and that – if such an action is taken against that prohibition – Ghent University will be given permission at any time. general rules apply that must be respected.
Those rules are the following:
- All evacuations must be possible and respected
- An action is only possible in a defined zone of a building
- Furniture may not be moved or damaged
- A sanitary facility will be indicated which must be used (so not over the entire building)
- They provide their own stewards who are responsible for crowd control, for example
- Dogs or other animals are not allowed (unless officially accompanied)
- They take care of their own waste management and disposal
- No masked persons (except medical face mask)
- No alcohol or drugs in the building
- No open fire
- In the event of violence, the police will be called immediately
- All academic and other activities in the building must be able to continue without any problem
- There must always be at least one responsible person present who can speak for the group regarding safety
- The building is left clean
The above will show that there is no question of threatening.
As always, the safety of students (and staff) is our starting point. Ghent University never gives permission to occupy buildings, but if this does happen, a general framework of agreements applies. The aim of these agreements is, among other things, to keep the promotion safe for everyone. This applies to the activists as well as to Ghent University students and any visitors who use the occupied building during the action.”
Rik Van de Walle
Headmaster
){kind=link}