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Third party collaborations: Conflict zones and human rights violations

The UvA collaborates with many partners at home and abroad. This is a great thing, because free academic exchange leads to better science. Our globally shared scientific methods are stronger than political differences. But this freedom is not unlimited. One of the principles of the UvA as an academic institution is that we do not want to become involved in human rights violations or war crimes.

The assessment of our cooperation in education and research is therefore being tightened in 2025. The existing assessment framework for external cooperation will be expanded and a set of new guidelines should help individual staff members assess what risks, if any, are attached to a partnership. The expansion of the assessment framework and guidelines will be based on broad input from the entire UvA community.

Finalising guidelines and assessment framework

The final draft of the new guidelines was submitted to the central council for advice in December 2024. The University Education Committee, University Research Committee, University Valorisation Committee and Senate have previously responded to it.

Based on all these reactions and advice, guidelines and assessment framework will be finalised in the foreseeable future, after which the Executive Board will adopt them. From then on, new and existing collaborations can be tested more rigorously on a structural basis.

Application of new guidelines

Once adopted, the new guidelines and extended assessment framework must prevent the UvA from contributing to the following through education or research

  • violation of human rights
  • misuse of knowledge for undesirable military purposes
  • serious damage to the environment

Until now, the assessment framework only covered cooperation with the fossil industry and knowledge security. The new instruments will also provide better tools for critically assessing institutional collaborations: research within consortia (such as Horizon 2020), student exchanges and collaborations with companies. A joint paper, presentation at a conference, guest lecturer or internship do not count as an institutional collaboration.

An important principle of assessment according to the new guidelines is that assessment never focuses on an entire country or institute: only individual collaborations are assessed.

More information
  • Process
    • In May 2024, an ad hoc working group of UvA experts was established to gather perspectives and input from all parts of the UvA. Following various roundtable discussions and a town hall meeting, this group presented 11 recommendations just before the summer.
    • In the meantime, no new collaborations were entered into with parties in countries and regions affected by war and conflict where serious human rights violations could occur.
    • To incorporate the working group’s recommendations into a revised assessment framework and new guidelines, the Advisory Committee on Collaboration with Third Parties took over the working group’s tasks.
    • The advisory committee was temporarily expanded to include 4 UvA experts in the fields of human rights, genocide studies, conflict studies, and international education collaboration.
    • Simultaneously, the 3 urgent cases were reviewed, and decisions on these cases have now been made.
    • The draft proposal for the updated assessment instrument was discussed with the University Committee on Research, University Committee on Education, University Committee on Valorisation and the Senate. Their feedback was incorporated into the draft.
    • The Central Works Council (COR) and the Central Student Council (CSR), which hold advisory rights beyond statutory requirements, received the draft for review in December 2024.
    • Once the representative advisory bodies have issued their advice, it will be integrated along with feedback from other university committees into a final version of the guidelines and framework. The Executive Board will then formally adopt the assessment instrument.
  • Composition of the Advisory Committee on Collaboration with Third Parties

    The new guidelines, the revised assessment framework and the recommendations on the 3 cases were drafted by the existing Advisory Committee on Collaboration with Third Parties. Specifically for this process, the Committee was recently expanded to include 4 colleagues with specialised expertise.

    Find the composition of the committee (in Dutch) on the staff website.

  • Documents and further information
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