Podcast: “There can be no justice without the search for truth.” Anne Weyembergh on why Truth Matters at the Université libre de Bruxelles

This year, SAR celebrates 25 years of a global academic freedom movement strong enough to meet the challenges ahead. In this special series, we are inviting partners from across the network and around the world to share what the 25th anniversary theme Truth Matters theme means to them and their work. Join the movement »

The Université libre de Bruxelles has a long tradition of hosting threatened scholars from all over the world. In this conversation with SAR Executive Director Rob Quinn, Anne Weyembergh, Professor of Law and Vice Rector for External Relations and Cooperation, describes the motivations for and impact of hosting scholars, such as keeping scholarship “free from repression, persecution,” given that “in many contexts, researchers are threatened because they produce or defend truths.” Professor Weyembergh also draws on her academic background to explore how truth-seeking is vital in criminal law and considers the role of universities in cultivating an “epistemic humility” in which professors and researchers can revise their views when new evidence emerges. “Truth is not imposed, but is pursued through critical reasoning, open debate, and scientific rigor. That is the basic principle of ULB.”

Episode highlight:

Rob Quinn: “You talk about vanquishing the darkness and advancing knowledge and questioning authority. Which is, of course, why a lot of scholars get targeted. And why our network was created to help scholars. And I know ULB has been so great in hosting so many scholars over the years, [such as from] Sudan, Turkey, Syria, Azerbaijan, Burundi, and more. So first, thank you for that, and thank you to everybody at the university who’s been involved in any way in hosting one scholar. I wonder if you see a connection between the Truth Matters theme and the act of hosting threatened scholars on your campus?”

Anne Weyembergh: “We are very grateful to Scholars at Risk, because you helped us a lot, especially in identifying scholars in need. As to your question, of course, Truth Matters implies that the search for truth must be free. Free from repression, persecution, and, of course, in many contexts, researchers are threatened because they produce or defend truths, scientific truths, that are inconvenient, be it in a scientific, historical, legal, or political field. And so, that’s the individual link. But it’s also linked to universities in general, because, as you know, in many countries now, universities are targeted. Are under attack themselves for what they are, because of what they represent. Coming back to the individual aspect, I would say that welcoming scholars is really key, because it is putting the principle of Truth Matters in practice. It is really making it kind of a reality. So, hosting scholars at risk is not just an accessory activity. It is, I think, a concrete, necessary expression of the principle that Truth Matters.”

“I’ve been in contact with those people in the research centers who welcome the researchers at risk, and many of them have told me, ‘what an extraordinary experience.’ From the human point of view, it was. And it helps to understand that academic freedom is not to be taken for granted. It is at risk, including in my country.”

Additional resources:

Read about the ULB solidarity fund: The Khaled al-Asaad Solidarity Fund and the “long tradition of welcoming” scholars at risk | Scholars at Risk

Subscribe to the ‘Free to Think’ podcast: