The International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies

Summary: The International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies, created in 1993, currently includes 70 academies and scholarly societies. The U.S. National Academies’ Committee on Human Rights serves as secretariat. The Network assists scientists and scholars worldwide who are subjected to severe repression for having peacefully exercised their rights as promulgated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Academies affiliated with the Network believe that their institutions are in a unique position to help promote and protect human rights, to raise the consciousness of other academies and scholarly societies about human rights abuses and what they can do to help resolve them, to gain the freedom of their imprisoned colleagues, and to support the independence of sister academies in all countries. Because academies and scholarly societies are held in high esteem and their integrity and objectivity are widely recognized, their efforts, through a worldwide network, are proving to be a powerful and effective tool in advancing respect for human rights. Institutions that are members of the Network have full autonomy and act at their own discretion. They intervene, in the name of their institutions, on cases and issues brought to their attention by the Network secretariat through regular Action Alerts.