Robert Quinn & Scholars at Risk to receive the University of Oslo’s 2012 Human Rights Award

16 November 2012 | From partners

Robert Quinn & Scholars at Risk to receive the University of Oslo’s 2012 Human Rights Award

in a ceremony featuring Espen Barth Eide, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway

2012 Torkel Opsahl Memorial Lecture to feature 
Robert Quinn, Executive Director, Scholars at Risk in conversation with
Frank LaRue, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion & Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion & Expression

November 19-20, 2012, Oslo, Norway

November 13, 2012: Scholars at Risk is honored to announce that the University of Oslo’s 2012 Human Rights Award will be presented to SAR Executive Director Robert Quinn and Scholars at Risk on November 19, 2012. As part of the ceremony, Mr. Quinn will also participate in the annual Eitinger Interview with Espen Barth Eide, Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. We invite colleagues and friends to join us for the ceremony and to share this invitation with colleagues in Norway or elsewhere who may be interested in attending. Mr. Quinn will also deliver on November 20, the Torkel Opsahl Memorial Lecture on the theme of “Bringing Claims for Academic Freedom Violations under Human Rights Law,” and will participate in a discussion with Frank LaRue, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion. Members of the Norwegian and international higher education and human rights communities will be in attendance.

2012 Human Rights Award Ceremony
The Lisl and Leo Eitinger Prize is awarded annually by the University of Oslo in recognition of personal effort and active involvement in human rights. It is in honor of Leo Eitinger and his wife Lisl, for their valuable contributions to Norway’s human rights movement.
When: Monday November 19, at 6:00PM
Where: University of Oslo, Old Ceremonial Hall (Gamle festsal) Domus Academica, Karl Johans gate 47

The Torkel Opsahl Memorial Lecture
The lecture is titled “Bringing Claims for Academic Freedom Violations under Human Rights Law” and will be delivered by Robert Quinn. The lecture focuses on the current legal standards for addressing violations of academic freedom, and encourages the inclusion of such claims in appropriate cases.
When: Tuesday November 20, at 10:15AM
Where: University of Oslo, The auditorium, Cort Adelers gate 30 (ground floor)

**Registration for both events is preferred. Please send your registration to: pamelding@admin.uio.no

Scholars at Risk is an international network of over 300 higher education institutions in 34 countries dedicated to protecting scholars, preventing attacks on higher education and promoting academic freedom. Since its founding in 2000, Scholars at Risk has received over 1500 requests for assistance from professors, lecturers, researchers, human rights defenders and other intellectuals in over 100 countries. Scholars at Risk protects scholars suffering grave threats to their lives, liberty and well-being, primarily by arranging positions of sanctuary at institutions in our network for those forced to flee. To help protect scholars unable to leave their home countries due to threats, restrictions, or wrongful imprisonment, as well as to respond to widespread threats against an entire faculty, institution or educational system, Scholars at Risk established its Scholars-in-Prison Project. For scholars outside of the country of danger, Scholars at Risk organizes Speaker Series events at network member institutions. Building on our work to protect threatened scholars, Scholars at Risk works to prevent attacks on higher education communities and to promote academic freedom by targeting the root causes of intellectual repression. SAR undertakes monitoring, research and advocacy to identify trends, develop best practices, and build increasingly effective responses to attacks.

Scholars at Risk-Norway was launched on May 23, 2011 at Oslo University College (HiO). The Norwegian Section represents Norway in the wider international Scholars at Risk Network and organizes and coordinates SAR activities in Norway.

Robert Quinn is the Executive Director of Scholars at Risk. Mr. Quinn currently serves on the Council of the Magna Charta Observatory, based in Bologna, Italy and is a fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Program in Washington, DC. He previously served as Executive Director of the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund; a board member of the Network for Education and Academic Rights; a member of the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He holds an A.B. from Princeton University, a J.D. from Fordham University and an honorary doctorate from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Frank La Rue is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, a position he has served in since August 2008. He is a lawyer and is the Executive Director of CALDH, the Center for Legal Action on Human Rights in Guatemala. He holds a degree in law from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala, and a postgraduate degree in U.S. foreign policy from Johns Hopkins University. Mr. La Rue has worked extensively on human rights issues, he was involved in presenting the first Guatemalan human rights case before the Inter-American Court for Human Rights. Mr. La Rue also brought the first case of genocide against the military dictatorship in Guatemala. As a human rights activist, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Mr. La Rue has previously served as Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala (2004 – 2008), Human Rights Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, President of the Governing Board of the DEMOS, and consultant to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Espen Barth Eide is Norway’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs. Previously, he has served as Minister of Defence and State Secretary (Deputy Minister) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He represents the Labour Party, which is the largest party in Norway’s three-party coalition government. In addition to his government posts, Mr. Eide was also a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) from 1993 to 1999 and Director of the Department of International Politics at NUPI from 2002 to 2005. In 2003, Mr. Eide was selected as a “global leader of tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum.
Please send your registration to: pamelding@admin.uio.no

We invite institutions of higher education to visit: http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/The-Network/Join-the-Network.php and join the Scholars at Risk Network today.

Connect with Scholars at Risk on social media: Follow us on Twitter (@ScholarsAtRisk) or “like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scholars-at-Risk/228730320487174


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