Around the world, national academies and their members have made outstanding contributions to the improvement of the human condition. Their knowledge and expertise is essential in addressing pressing domestic and international concerns related to science and technology. Engagement with internationally recognized human rights norms complements this vital work and helps to shape responsible solutions to new global challenges.
IHRN Resources
In recognition of the unique and important role national academies play in promoting human rights, the IHRN has begun the development of resources designed to inspire academies wishing to become more involved in human rights issues.
Human Rights & COVID-19 Repository
Through their research and other activities, many national academies are examining the connections between science, engineering, health and human rights and working to promote rights-based approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To highlight this important work, the IHRN has launched a repository with selected academy activities independently produced in this area.
Resource Guide
The IHRN's resource guide, Engaging with Human Rights in the National Academy Context, highlights the creative, and varying, ways in which national academies around the world are integrating human rights activities into their work.
Released in September 2018, the guide examines:
Appeals Concerning Human Rights Violations
Assistance Following Conflict and Human Rights Abuse
Human Rights Dialogue and Research
Webinar
A webinar (featured below) was held in October 2018 to delve further into certain key themes addressed in the resource guide. Speakers from several national academies participating in the IHRN shared their views on the importance of human rights for them personally and for their academies. They included:
Abdallah S. Daar, Executive Committee Member, International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies
Martin Chalfie, Chair of the Committee on Human Rights, U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
Esther Mwaikambo, Past President, Tanzania Academy of Sciences
Peter Vale, Member, Academy of Science of South Africa
Hans-Peter Zenner, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
Resources from Other Academies
Online Guide from the U.S. National Academies' Committee on Human Rights
To help empower colleagues undergoing rights abuse, along with their families and other supporters, and to assist them in obtaining justice, the U.S. National Academies' Committee on Human Rights (which serves as the Secretariat for the IHRN) has produced Confronting Human Rights Abuses: A Guide for Supporting Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals Under Threat. This e-guide, specifically tailored to scientists, engineers, and health professionals, includes information on international human rights norms and complaint mechanisms, advocacy tools and strategies, and assistance providers.
We encourage national academies to share relevant information on their own research, events and other human rights activities by contacting the IHRN at hrnetwork@nas.edu.
IHRN Bulletin
In winter 2024, the IHRN Secretariat launched a biannual human rights bulletin containing updates on the IHRN Secretariat’s activities, human rights resources, and highlights of IHRN participating academies’ human rights events, publications, and announcements. Read the first edition of the bulletin.
To receive future editions of this bulletin and other news from the IHRN, subscribe to the IHRN mailing list.
Assisting Displaced Colleagues
National academies from around the world have long played a role in helping to safeguard the human rights of scholars and researchers whose work is threatened or interrupted due to persecution or geopolitical conflict. Notably, in cases where colleagues have fled their countries, academies and their members often work to connect these individuals, and their families, with organizations that arrange fellowships, academic placements, pro bono legal support, and other services. These efforts have been instrumental in helping many colleagues continue their work in safety, and they have sometimes contributed to the reconstruction of decimated higher education systems where colleagues have been able to return home.
The following are examples of organizations that regularly liaise with academies and their members for the purpose of, inter alia, assisting scholars and their families in exile:
Scholars at Risk
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is a global network of more than 500 universities and higher education partners worldwide dedicated to promoting academic freedom and protecting threatened scholars. SAR arranges temporary academic positions at its member institutions for scholars facing threat. View a list of scholars seeking assistance on the SAR website and review SAR's advice to university hosts in its How to Host handbook. Scholars seeking information on assistance provided by SAR can find more information on its application page. Contact scholarsatrisk@nyu.edu for more information.
Institute of International Education Scholar Rescue Fund
The Institute of International Education (IIE) Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) provides fellowships that allow threatened scholars to continue their work at academic institutions worldwide. Visit IIE's website to view a list of current scholars seeking placement, resources for host institutions, and resources for fellows and alumni. Those who do not qualify for SRF assistance can consult IIE's list of alternative sources of funding for other potential opportunities. Contact srf@iie.org for more information.
Cara (the Council for At-Risk Academics)
Cara (the Council for At-Risk Academics) partners with universities and research institutions to support academics in danger by providing assistance, both financial and practical, that allows academics to continue their work in safety. Cara focuses primarily on helping academics who need urgently to escape from immediate danger (conflict, violence, persecution) in their own country, rather than those already in exile, usually providing multi-year support; it also runs ground-breaking regionally-based programs to help those who have found temporary sanctuary in a neighboring country or who are continuing to work in their home countries, despite the risks. To learn more about being a host institution visit Cara's webpage on university and partner support or email info@cara.ngo.
In 2021, the World Academy of Sciences, in partnership with the International Science Council and the InterAcademy Partnership, officially launched Science in Exile, an initiative that aims to preserve science and protect scientists by developing a unified global effort to address the needs of and advocate for at-risk, displaced, and refugee scientists. This initiative brings together science institutions, academia, humanitarian and development organizations, governments, diaspora groups, and employers to work together to strengthen systems that support, protect and integrate such scientists. Learn more about the Science in Exile initiative.
The IHRN Secretariat is currently gathering information on programs and other forms of assistance provided by national academies in support of displaced scholars. We invite national academies to share relevant activities in this regard with the IHRN Secretariat.