Belgian universities warn of growing threats to academic freedom

The rectors of Belgium’s 10 universities have issued a statement waring of the threat to academic freedom amid increasing pressure on scientists. The Scholars at Risk "Free to think 2024" report documents 391 attacks on scholars, institutions and students across 51 countries in just one year.

Belgium is in the top five countries for academic freedom, according to the Academic Freedom Index, while almost half the world's population lives in countries where it is seriously threatened. But Belgium must be vigilant, the rectors say, with examples from the US and elsewhere showing that circumstances can change quickly. The statement sees scientists, particularly young female researchers, under attack, from insults on social media to death threats in the most extreme cases. There is also an impact on the research that academics conduct.

The statement sees academic freedom resting on three pillars: the right of individuals (both scholars and students) to teach, research, study, and express ideas freely; the institutional autonomy of universities to govern themselves without undue interference; and the responsibility of public authorities to protect and promote these freedoms. Some frameworks like the Bonn Declaration on Freedom of Scientific Research, and the Commission's forthcoming guidelines on academic values, signal a growing awareness of the problem. The statement also refers to the "fifth freedom", proposed by Enrico Letta, meaning the free movement of research, knowledge, innovation and education, as underlining the urgency of protecting intellectual mobility and academic independence within the single market. It calls on the public to renew its commitment to academic freedom.

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