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The first Luxembourg Forum on Human Rights in Higher Education was held in Luxembourg, on the 10th and 11th of March. This joint initiative of the European University Foundation – Campus Europae, the University of Luxembourg and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg brought together some of foremost European experts in Human Rights, such as Prof. Emmanuel Decaux, Prof. Antonio Papisca and Prof. Jean-Paul Lehners. The discussion was further enriched with contributions by Ms. Heidi Hautala, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Ms. Ólöf Ólafsdóttir, Director of Education and Languages at Council of Europe, Ms. Erna Hennicot-Schoepges, former Minister of Culture, Higher Education and Research of Luxembourg, Prof. Anatoly Mikhailov, Rector of the European Humanities University, Prof. Jürgen Kohler, EUA and University of Greifswald, and Prof. Rusen Ergec  from the University of Luxembourg.

Prof. Decaux held the opening speech by guiding the participants into the meanders of the United Nations Draft Declaration Human Rights in Education, of which he was the rapporteur – a unique opportunity to better understand the key ideas as well as the constraints that shaped its elaboration. Building on this excellent introduction the first panel got itself into a passionate discussion about the capacity of universities to help create and remain a part of a holistic system to uphold Human Rights (HR), which goes beyond the effectiveness limits of existing frameworks. There has been a plea for looking beyond mere legal instruments and to think about practical and concrete tools.

The second panel took the discussion further by systematically questioning the role and responsibilities of universities. Prof. Mikhailov elaborated on how theory and practice cannot be divorced when it comes to Human Rights, which is a field where often times principles are both agreed with and disrespected. Prof. Lehners in turn presented a survey, which demonstrated that only one out of fifteen European universities had any explicit references to upholding Human Rights in their Charta. It was suggested that international cooperation and inter-institutional agreements in Higher Education must be incorporate a HR dimension, particularly as far as the choice of partners, programmes and participants is concerned.

At the third panel Prof. Kohler gave an excellent account of how existing quality assurance systems can be put to use to ascertain whether university curricula are incorporating Human Rights notions and concepts. It was also analyzed how HR can articulate with the other key functions of a university, notably science and outreach; aspects such as university autonomy and the participation of its different bodies in the decision-making processes can also be improved through such reflections. The Forum ended with a vibrant discussion a putative Declaration on Human Rights and Higher Education. Participants will discuss this proposal further until the next edition of the Forum, which is due for 2013.