Scholars at Risk (SAR) uOttawa

Provide sanctuary and assistance to threatened scholars around the world.

Your contribution to the Scholars at Risk Program Fund
will help advance freedom of thoughts.

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“We are very thankful that our students had an opportunity to learn from Fayyaz Baqir (scholar hosted at uOttawa in 2018-2020) and the distinguished guest speakers he brought to the classroom. His efforts to bring together international networks of scholars in joint publishing projects were commendable and we particularly appreciated his efforts to create publishing opportunities for our graduate students.

Fayyaz definitely made an enormous contribution to our School.”

Susan Spronk, Associate Professor
School of International Development and Global Studies
University of Ottawa

About SAR uOttawa

The University of Ottawa joined the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network in 2014 and entrusted the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) to develop a SAR uOttawa Program. HRREC Assistant Director, Viviana Fernandez, chairs the SAR Canada Section's Steering Committee and represents the University of Ottawa in the SAR International Advisory Committee.

Scholars at Risk is an international network of higher education institutions dedicated to protecting threatened scholars, preventing attacks on higher education communities and promoting academic freedom worldwide.

SAR uOttawa partners with the Scholars at Risk Network and the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) to offer one to two-year appointments in host departments across the university. SAR uOttawa is also supported by the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO).

• Remote Scholars Initiative: Starting in January 2021, SAR uOttawa assists threatened scholars who may not be able to travel through remote fellowships. Currently, the program focusses on scholars located in Venezuela.
• Academic Freedom Monitoring: uOttawa is engaged in the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project through the Human Rights Clinic since 2018 and contributes to the Free to Think Report through the monitoring of seven countries in the Americas. In June 2020, the Human Rights Clinic submitted the report "Threats to Academic Freedom in the Americas" to the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression to develop a report on academic freedom for the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. Read the UNSR Report in English and French.
• Advocacy in the Americas: HRREC, the University of Monterrey and the SAR Network launched a two-year project to increase awareness and advocacy in defense of academic freedom across the Americas. The purpose is to generate clear and regionally tailored guidelines, foster direct advocacy, and position the Americas as a global leaders on the development of relevant human rights norms and standards to protect higher education spaces and academic communities. To implement this work, the Centre concluded an MOU with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to provide technical assistance, contribute to the development of the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) and promote the use of the IAHRS and its standards through the implementation of an Academic Network.
• Learn more about the Scholars a Risk (SAR) uOttawa Program.
• To contact the SAR Program at uOttawa, please write to scholarsatrisk@uottawa.ca.

Protecting Freedom of Thought