Executive Summary

1.   In 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression issued a report summarizing the protection of academic freedom under international law.^[1]

2.   A Working Group on Academic Freedom (WGAF), drawing on expertise from around the world, was formed to continue that work and specifically to encourage strengthening of monitoring and protection mechanisms for academic freedom across all levels and mechanisms of the United Nations, including among UN offices and systems, as well as among UN Member States. Over a period of twelve months, the working group drafted these ‘Principles for Implementing the Right to Academic Freedom,’ inviting input and consultation from a wide range of stakeholders interested or engaged in the protection of academic freedom. The draft Principles were then widely distributed with a public comment period open from March 2023 to January 2024. Over this same period members of the WGAF presented the draft Principles in private and public meetings, conferences, and association gatherings, including especially meetings of UN treaty bodies and a side event at the UN Human Rights Council’s 53rd session in June 2023. The working group is grateful for the many comments and supportive statements received, including from dozens of international experts, including UN Special Procedures, UNESCO officials, and UN Member State representatives.

3.   These Principles have since been translated from English into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish and disseminated widely for comment and use in promoting greater recognition and more effective implementation of the right to academic freedom.