Gaza: They denounce the disproportionate police action against protests on US campuses

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights affirmed that freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly are “fundamental to society”, especially when there are strong disagreements on important issues, as is the case in relation to the conflict in the Territories Occupied Palestinians and Israel.

Volker Turk He was thus referring to the demonstrations carried out by students at Columbia University in New York, to demand that their authorities stop making donations to Israel due to the occupation and military assault on Gaza, which in recent days have been spread throughout the country.

American university authorities, from the west coast to the east, have taken different approaches, ranging from Columbia’s initial response of calling the police to forcibly remove the students camped in protest, to holding negotiations with the students and allow the permanence of the camps.

Columbia protesters on Monday ignored a university ultimatum to leave the camp or risk suspension. Early Tuesday morning, students took over the campus’s historic Hamilton Hall, barricading themselves inside.

The building is emblematic since it was one of those occupied in the student protests for civil rights and the Vietnam War in 1968.

The university’s president announced early Monday that dialogue with protesters had failed, and that the institution would not give in to demands not to give money to Israel. The students maintain that this money is used to finance the bombs that are contributing to the Palestinian genocide.

The right to protest is fundamental

In his statement Tuesday, Türk noted that in recent weeks, thousands of college students in the United States have protested against the war, and many demonstrations have proceeded without incident.

He highlighted that, however, there have been hundreds of arrests following interventions on some campuses by the security forces. Many have subsequently been released, while others still face charges or academic sanctions.

Measures taken by authorities and law enforcement officials to restrict this type of expression should be carefully reviewed to ensure that they do not go beyond what is demonstrably necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others or for another objective. legitimate, such as the maintenance of public health or order, Türk said.

“I am concerned that some of the measures taken by law enforcement at a number of universities appear disproportionate in their effects,” he stressed.

The human rights official insisted that any clearly anti-Semitic behavior or speech is totally unacceptable and deeply worrying. but so are anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian behaviors and discourses.

“Incitement to violence or hatred based on identity or points of view, whether real or perceived, must be strongly repudiated,” he continued. “We have already seen that such dangerous rhetoric can quickly lead to real violence.”

Türk said that any violent behavior should be addressed on a case-by-case basis and not through blanket measures “that blame all members of a protest for the unacceptable views of a few.”

Human rights legislation

“Here, as everywhere, university and law enforcement responses must be guided by human rights legislation, enabling vibrant debate and protecting safe spaces for all,” he reasoned.

The High Commissioner stressed that any restrictions on fundamental freedoms of expression must be guided by “legality, necessity and proportionality” and applied without discrimination.

“American universities have a strong historical tradition of student activism, raucous debate, and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Türk said.

“It must be clear that legitimate exercises of freedom of expression cannot be confused with incitement to violence and hatred.”