Leiden University outlines approach to responsible collaboration fol-lowing advice of Committee on Human Rights
Leiden University is announcing its approach for sensitive collabora-tion with external partners. This has been prompted by the ongoing, troubling situation in the Middle East and the recent advice from the Committee on Human Rights and Conflict Areas regarding current col-laboration with Israeli partners.
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 Executive Board is not suspending the current collaborations as the Committee advises, but for the current institutional collaborations with an Israeli partner is making a number of concrete decisions. 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.
FAQ voor staff and students
What does this mean for me?
My research is part of one of the 12 projects. What happens now?
Your faculty board will ensure that you are contacted in the coming weeks to assess your situation. We will take definitive decisions before the summer, but only once your situation has been discussed. We will always guarantee the continuity of the work of young researchers. Decisions on institutional collaboration focus on the collaboration itself, not on individual researchers or PhD candidates.
I am a PhD candidate or postdoc in one of the projects concerned. Is there a risk for me?
We want to avoid a decision by the university causing unnecessary harm to your research. Your faculty board will assess your situation before any definitive decisions are taken. Where necessary, solutions will be sought. We will always guarantee the continuity of the work of young researchers. As soon as decisions have been taken, we will make these known via the staff and student website. We will keep you up to date with progress via your faculty.
How will students and staff be involved?
We will hold discussions with the University Council before taking any definitive decisions.
What has the Executive Board decided, and why?
Why isn’t the Executive Board adopting the Committee’s advice in full?
The Executive Board has set a clear course and has confirmed that no new collaborations with Israeli partners will be entered into for the present. In determining this course, the university waited until the Committee’s report was available so that we could take the Committee’s insights fully into account.
Why does the Executive Board use different wording from the Committee (suspend, terminate)?
The Committee has set out what it considers necessary from a moral viewpoint, but we also have to balance what we can actually do. All projects are embedded in European consortia with contractual obligations towards several partners. We are taking the Committee’s advice as our guiding principle, but we want to avoid promising more than we can accomplish.
What is the plan for new collaborations with Israeli partners?
The temporary ban on new institutional collaborations remains in force. We will, in principle, not enter into any new collaborations while the human rights situation remains a cause for concern and before our new assessment framework is in place.
The Executive Board intends to adopt a comprehensive assessment framework. What does that say about the Committee’s mandate?
The Committee’s advice is an important building block for the broader approach we are now adopting. The decisions on policy and frameworks are our responsibility. We need a framework that we can apply to all sensitive collaborations. This comprehensive assessment framework will ensure that future decisions can be taken more rapidly, more consistently and with the same degree of caution, also because all collaborations have to be assessed before an agreement is signed.
How does this decision relate to academic freedom?
Academic freedom is a core value for Leiden University and is anchored in our history and our motto. This freedom does not operate in a vacuum. Carefully assessed collaboration can, under certain conditions, play a role in protecting academic freedom. This could apply to support for critical scholars in a repressive context, for instance, or to strengthening international standards for ethical research. This is a key reason not to opt for a generic country ban, but rather for an assessment per project and per activity.
Procedure and timeline
When will the Executive Board take definitive decisions?
We aim to do so before summer 2026. We are working with the faculties involved and in discussion with the University Council. For each project, we are looking at the nature of the collaboration, the position of the researchers and PhD candidates involved, the contractual obligations and the broader consequences. As soon as decisions have been taken, we will communicate further on this.
Why will it take at least until the summer?
To reach a responsible decision, we must have the contractual situation of each project examined, assess the implications for ongoing funding and clearly understand what phasing out or terminating projects would mean for those involved. Some of this information is available, and some still needs to be gathered. Moreover, discussions still have to be held with the University Council and the Board of Governors. Before the summer is the earliest possible date.
When will the new assessment framework be ready?
We aim to have the framework in place by autumn 2026. This process is running in parallel to the decision-making on the specific projects.
Some people feel frustrated or dissatisfied. How will the Executive Board handle this?
Such feelings are very understandable. People within our community have diverse and at times conflicting views on the right course of action to take. There are also very diverse views on how to handle collaboration with Israeli universities.
We believe it is very important that all students and staff feel safe at our university. Decisions on institutional collaborations should never lead to the stigmatisation of individual people or groups. Leiden University rejects all forms of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or other expressions of hate and intimidation, and takes appropriate action where necessary.
Context and comparison
Is Leiden the only university taking these steps?
No. Our university is part of a broader European movement in which universities are actively reflecting on the limits of institutional collaboration. At the policy level, the national rectors’ conferences of the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, Poland and Spain recently called for stronger safeguards for human rights in the future European FP10 Framework Programme (2028–2034). In Scandinavia and the Low Countries, universities have to date mainly opted for assessment per partner and per type of collaboration, with the degree of military integration as the benchmark. This contrasts with, for example, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, where university organisations expressly avoid institutional boycotts and regard scientific collaboration as an instrument for dialogue.
For example, in May 2024, Ghent University (UGent) started a formal exit process for 12 ongoing Horizon Europe projects with Israeli partners. This proved extremely complex: each project requires individual negotiations with all the consortium partners and approval from the European Commission. In March 2026, UGent received formal approval from the EC to withdraw from one project. The process is still ongoing for the remaining projects. The time required for this one project illustrates the complexity of proposals to suspend or dissolve consortia.
How independent was the Advisory Committee?
The Committee was completely independent. It was established by the Executive Board, but its work was not subject to any substantive instructions. The members were selected for their expertise in human rights, international law and ethics.
Why have we had to wait so long for the advisory report?
The members of the Committee have undertaken a complex and sensitive assignment, and this has been in addition to their regular work. They have worked with sensitivity and have spoken with those involved. The report was presented in draft form on 12 March 2026 and was finalised on 2 April 2026, following a fact check. These three weeks were used for careful verification and for amendments to be incorporated by the Committee. That takes time, but it is necessary to guarantee the quality of the advice.