Student Human Rights Advocacy Conference in Scotland

Hosted by the University of Dundee, the two-day conference brought together 60 students and academics from 6 European universities, who are all working with the international human rights organisation “Scholars at Risk”. All of the students are involved in advocacy campaigns, highlighting the persecution of human rights activists from Belarus, Iran, China and Türkiye. LIBERECO collaborated with The People’s Consulate for Belarus in Scotland to highlight the situation of Belarusian students and academics.

The students shared their experiences of organising social media campaigns, film showings, petitions and political lobbying to support other students and academics who have been persecuted for their human rights activities. The students at Dundee University lobbied their institution to support the Marfa Rabkova, who is serving nearly 15 years in prison in Belarus for her human rights work. The university has indicated that it would support holding an annual human rights lecture in the name of Marfa.

Edzia Carvalho, the University of Dundee lecturer who led the conference organisation, said, “In these globally troubled times where academic freedom, freedom of expression and basic human rights are under so much threat it’s great to work with students who are passionate about the freedoms of others. As well as sharing their own successes and difficulties in campaigning, the students heard from human rights activists from Kenya, Belarus and Colombia. Hearing of the personal risks they take in their work, the pressure that can be put on their families, and the constant anxiety they face because of their advocacy is a powerful warning about the personal impact of authoritarian rulers.”

Meetings in the Scottish Parliament

The second day of the conference included meetings in the Scottish Parliament. The Dundee students organised meetings with 6 MSPs to talk to them about what they could to do advocate for Belarusian political prisoners. Some of the MSPs are already involved in the campaign to support Belarusian political prisoners, organised by the European human rights organisation LIBERECO. There is great support across all parties in Holyrood for freedom in Belarus, with 19 MSPs advocating for individual political prisoners in that country.

One of the Dundee students involved in the conference, Ciara Palfrey, said “I’m happy to see the interest from our MSPs and our university. We must keep having these conversations and cannot take our rights for granted, those who can speak up for human rights should. This advocacy community reminds us, and I hope the conference can happen in future years.”

The students met with Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs, to discuss the use of soft power to promote human rights in today’s world. This was part of the Scottish Government’s ongoing activities to support democracy in Belarus, run for almost 31 years by Alexander Lukashenko. In 2022 the First Minister met with Svietlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces and likely winner of the 2020 Presidential election. To mark UN Human Rights Day on 10^th December last year the Scottish Government lobbied the UK Foreign Secretary, calling for it to sanction some of the judges and prison heads who are persecuting innocent people.

Street-protest in Edinburgh

Humza Yousaf MSP also met the group to share his experiences in advocating for human rights and to encourage the students in their interest in speaking on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves because of the persecution they face.

Mr Yousaf said, “I am delighted to partner with friends at LIBERECO to host students from across Europe with a passion for human rights advocacy. Right across the world – from Ukraine to Gaza – we are seeing the decimation of international human rights law. We are in danger of living in an age of impunity and anarchy, as opposed to a rules-based order which demands accountability. We must do everything we can to equip and empower our future generations to ensure they uphold and enforce international law, otherwise we will continue to see the most brutal violations of law go unpunished.”

In an Edinburgh street-protest the young human rights advocates displayed posters, designed to highlight the way in which political and free speech oppression affects students in other countries. One poster asked the question “Are you going home this summer?”, raising the point that many students from countries like Belarus and Iran cannot return home at all for fear of arrest and detention.