OSUN's Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative Appeals to EU Governments to Aid Afghan Scholars and Students

OSUN’s Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative has joined 45 other scholar protection groups and organizations in signing an urgent appeal to European governments and EU institutions to take immediate action toward safeguarding the lives and careers of Afghanistan’s scholars, students, and civil society actors.

As explained in the appeal, signers, including the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR), the PAUSE program in France, and the Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, are racing to offer assistance to researchers, scholars and civil society actors in Afghanistan whose lives and livelihoods are now at risk due to the Taliban takeover of the country. 

These groups and organizations are asking European governments and EU institutions to continue evacuation flights from Afghanistan for as long as possible and to increase resettlement quotas to help those in need of international protection. Among other measures, they also ask for dedicated EU and national fellowship schemes for scholars and expedited complementary legal pathways for candidates who demonstrate an existing host institution, job, or sponsor. 

“The eroding situation in Afghanistan poses a threat not only to the lives of our colleagues still in Afghanistan, but to the future of that country,” reads the appeal. “The European higher education community is ready to do its part, but we need your help. If we move quickly, we can go a long way towards mitigating the worst of the threats and demonstrate continuing commitment to the future of Afghanistan and its people.”

Read the full appeal and list of signers here.

Post Date: 08-23-2021