New York - Washington: Europe and the Arabs
Independent UN experts have expressed their deep concern about the massive crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protests on various university campuses across the United States.
In a statement issued yesterday, Thursday, the human rights experts said that "the ban on and attacks on student protests constitute a serious violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression guaranteed by international human rights law, and must cease immediately." This comes after the experts conveyed their concerns to the US government in a previous letter. According to the UN daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning, Friday
The experts pointed out that students across the United States have set up camps and organized peaceful protests to express solidarity with Palestinian civilians in Gaza and to oppose their universities' association with companies profiting from the conflict and occupation, adding that police have removed many of these camps at the request of university administrations, sometimes using force, which led to the ambulance transfer of protesters.
The independent experts stressed that such measures appear disproportionate and lack legal justification.
The statement explained that students reported facing severe retaliation for participating in protests, including summons or arrest, deportation from the United States, expulsion and suspension from studies, loss of university housing, unjustified surveillance, inability to graduate, and other punitive measures that could significantly impact their freedom, health, education, and professional future.
Facilitating peaceful protests
The independent experts urged academic authorities to “ensure that students are not punished or treated unfairly for exercising their basic human rights,” calling for the readmission of those who were expelled, after the summer break.
They stressed that the United States must ensure respect for the freedom of peaceful assembly, as required by Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the United States has ratified, and Article 5 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and that restrictions must be legitimate, necessary, and proportionate.
They added that private campuses have a responsibility to respect human rights under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The experts stressed that “peaceful protests and rights movements must be facilitated as part of democratic processes.”

Rejecting accusations of anti-Semitism
The experts referred to accusations made by some US politicians and university officials that the protests are anti-Semitic, and strongly rejected these characterizations. They said, “It is inaccurate and unjustified to characterize all peaceful demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian people, calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, or criticism of Israeli policies as anti-Semitic.”
They stressed their strong condemnation of anti-Semitism as a serious form of racial hatred and intolerance, and called on the authorities to properly investigate and take effective measures against it in line with international human rights law.

A cornerstone of democracy
The independent experts said in their statement, “The political pressure exerted on university administrators and academics to take certain positions and actions in relation to these protests constitutes a clear interference with academic freedom, which is a cornerstone of democracy.”
They expressed concern that attacks, threats, retaliation, stigmatization and accusations of anti-Semitism could have a chilling effect on diversity of opinion, affecting academic freedom on campus, both inside and outside the classroom.

They called 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 to create a safe and enabling environment where everyone can freely express their views on matters of public interest.

Special rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, an intergovernmental body responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. The rapporteurs and experts are tasked with examining human rights situations and reporting on them to the Human Rights Council. The position is honorary, and the experts are not UN staff nor are they paid for their work.