Protests in support of Palestinian human rights at university campuses around the world have been met with repressive responses.
Universities must protect students’ rights to peacefully and safely protest on their campuses.
Student protests have been at the centre of fundamental human rights struggles for generations. Students played historic roles in demanding civil rights in the USA, First Nations justice in Australia, an end to apartheid in South Africa and the end of the Iraq war.
Universities have a duty to respect, facilitate and protect the right to protest under international human rights standards.
Despite this, the University of Sydney has recently introduced a Campus Access Policy that requires students to apply for a permit to protest. Requiring students to apply for a permit to protest undermines the right to protest. The University must accommodate spontaneous protests for which notification is not practicable or appropriate. Lack of notification should not be used as a basis for dispersing a protest.
Amnesty International Australia is also concerned by reports that the University of Melbourne, and potentially other universities, have tendered CCTV footage and Wi-Fi location data as evidence in misconduct hearings. The use of mass surveillance to curtail protest is a deeply concerning global trend. Students should not have to fear being identified, tracked, harassed and persecuted, simply by exercising their right to freedom of assembly.
The right to protest must be protected, universities must uphold their duty to respect and facilitate protests so that students can speak out and challenge injustice, and make the world a better place, as they have for decades.
All people should be able to take part in peaceful protests and safely make their voices heard. Protest is a human right. It must be protected, not attacked.
Write to Vice Chancellors of Australian Universities and urge them to protect students’ right to protest.