Leiden University outlines approach to responsible collaboration following advice of Committee on Human Rights

Leiden University confirms in this approach that it will not enter into any new institutional research partnerships with Israeli institutions for the time being. When considering the possible termination of current collaborations, it will look expressly at project-level activities.

The Executive Board also wishes to make it known that it intends to work on a new, integrated approach to responsible collaboration with third parties. Within this approach, the university will consider, in conjunction, human rights, knowledge security, partnerships with risk sectors such as the fossil fuel industry and the risks inherent in defence-related research.

The assessment framework will apply to all sensitive collaborations. With its introduction, the university will once again be able to determine whether new institutional research collaborations with Israeli partners are possible, and whether its current policy of refraining from entering into new collaborations should remain in place.

The Committee’s advice

The advisory report of the Committee on Human Rights and Conflict Zones, the definitive version of which was presented to the Executive Board on 2 April 2026, recommends that for the time being, as long as the violence and the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestine territories continue, no new institutional research partnerships should be entered into with partners in Israel, and that, of the current collaborations, eleven should be suspended and one terminated.

Pending this advice, the university previously decided that no new institutional partnerships would be established with Israeli institutions. The Executive Board confirms this decision and is choosing to continue this policy as long as the human rights situation continues to give cause for concern, and the new integrated approach to responsible collaboration has not been implemented.

The Executive Board shares the serious concerns about the scale and intensity of the violence and destruction in the Middle East and the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as about the consequences for universities. These concerns have prompted the Board to look critically at the university’s partnerships and responsibilities.

Next steps

External partnerships remain essential for good education and research. However, where collaboration threatens to contribute to serious human rights violations, academic freedom is undermined or there are significant risks of unintended military use of knowledge, the university wants to be able to set boundaries. 

The university is now making concrete decisions about the current institutional collaborations involving an Israeli partner. In one project in which the partner is directly and structurally integrated with the military and defence industry, the Board intends to work with the relevant faculty towards termination, within the existing legal and contractual framework. Earlier efforts towards this were made by those involved in Leiden, but at that time, there was no scope for this within the consortium.

In European consortia involving an Israeli partner with a high-risk profile and a number of non-Israeli partners, but where there is no direct contact between Leiden and that partner, the university intends to allow the current contract period to run its course. The university will withdraw if the project is extended unless the context has changed fundamentally at that point.

For projects that do not pose a risk of direct human rights violations, the Executive Board’s preferred option is a gradual phasing out of the activity. Several projects that are due to expire within a few months will run to completion.

Humanitarian and societal impact

The Executive Board stresses that it will also consider the humanitarian and societal impact of projects. It will exercise caution in projects in which knowledge is developed that can save lives or that contribute to strengthening democratic resilience, human rights or the rule of law.

Uniform assessment framework

In parallel with the assessment of current institutional projects, the Executive Board intends to move towards a new integrated approach to responsible collaboration. This will bring together human rights, knowledge security, partnering with risk sectors such as the fossil fuel industry, and the risks inherent in defence-related research. This approach is in line with the broader national and European discourse, which advocates assessment at project and call level rather than generic country bans.

Over the coming months, the Executive Board will elaborate upon this, together with the existing committees, faculties and participation bodies, to develop a uniform assessment framework for international collaborations.

Active support

At the same time, the Executive Board will investigate how the university can help support affected academics and institutions, for example by offering emergency funding or participation in programmes for reconstructing academic infrastructure, with, in the present context, particular attention to Gaza and the West Bank. The Executive Board will take these measures together with faculties, participation bodies and our partners in and beyond Leiden. Solidarity with our colleagues in the region will be the guiding principle.