NEW YORK, 23 september 2009 (HRW): – The opening today of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thulwa, Saudi Arabia, will test whether the kingdom is prepared to expand academic freedoms and women’s rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
KAUST, intended as an elite graduate research university with partnerships with leading foreign universities and academics, states on its website that its vision and mission are to “uphold the highest standards of moral, ethical, and professional conduct.”
“The question is whether KAUST will live up to its apparent commitments to freedom and to gender equality,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It remains to be seen whether the university will be an island of freedom in an ocean of repression, or whether it can help spread freedoms to other parts of the kingdom.”
Læs mere: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/09/23/saudi-arabia-new-university-chance-expand-freedom
