The presidents of Belgian universities, meeting within the CRef and VLIR, note with dismay the persistent lack of a decision to allow at their universities, students and researchers from Gaza who have been selected to receive a scholarship or research grant following particularly rigorous selection processes.
The presidents of Belgian universities, meeting through the CRef and VLIR, note with dismay the persistent failure to make a decision that would allow Gaza-based students and researchers—who were selected to receive a study or research scholarship following particularly rigorous procedures—into their universities.
The CRef and VLIR condemn the disgraceful political horse-trading to which these individuals are currently being subjected. They must not be treated as bargaining chips or mere variables in political debates on migration. Their applications must be evaluated for what they are: those of students and researchers who have earned scholarships based on their academic merit and who have all expressed their desire to return to their country afterward to contribute to its reconstruction.
For many months now, universities have been denouncing the baseless nature of the obstacles cited to prevent their arrival. On the one hand, the requirement to submit a visa application in person is, of course, practically impossible to meet under current circumstances and is therefore contrary to the principles established in the Afrin ruling issued on April 18, 2023, by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Furthermore, the claim that their evacuation is impractical does not hold up to scrutiny of the facts, as several European Union member states have demonstrated that such an evacuation could in fact be organized. Moreover, the discussions that have taken place in recent weeks show that the obstacles cited are not insurmountable constraints but rather a lack of political will.
The university presidents will continue their efforts and will not let up in their efforts to ensure that a solution is finally found. Beyond these individual situations, it is the right to education, training, and research that is at stake. It is also, more fundamentally, a simple matter of humanity.
Annick Castiaux (UNamur), Jan Danckaert (VUB), Philippe Dubois (UMONS), Herwig Leirs (UAntwerpen), Anne-Sophie Nyssen (ULiège), Annemie Schaus (ULB), Françoise Smets (UCLouvain), Petra De Sutter (UGent), Bernard Vanheusden (UHasselt), Severine Vermeire (KU Leuven).