Alerts & Campaigns

Information Gathering
SAR monitors news reports and other information sources for situations involving threats to academic freedom or attacks on scholars and universities, including the postings of the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR). SAR is a founding member of NEAR. 

SAR invites individuals to report threats to academic freedom and attacks on scholars or universities. Information that is well sourced and corroborated is appreciated, although SAR understands that complete information is not always available. Reports may be submitted directly through this website.

Evalulation
SAR investigates reports and works to verify and corroborate information. SAR then evaluates each situation to determine whether any SAR activity is warranted and, if so, whether an alert, campaign or other activity is appropriate. Factors considered in evaluating situations include, part are not limited to:

• Quality of information / sources
• Timeliness
• Severity of situation / threats
• Magnitude/scope of negative impact
• Consistency with SAR core mission
• Existing efforts / responses (if any)
• Participating organizations (if any)
• Level of coordination of existing efforts
• Adequacy of existing efforts without SAR action
• Availability of SAR resources for action and follow-up
• Suitable avenues for follow-up
• History of SAR involvement
• Likelihood of positive impact

Content of alerts/campaigns

All alerts and campaigns include background information and sourcing necessary for each recipient to evaluate for him or herself whether to participate in the requested activity. Limitations in quality or availability of information are indicated.

Message content / model messages
Model messages are provided for the convenience of the individual recipients and may be edited or discarded in favor of the recipient's original text. All model messages use respectful tone and language appropriate to professional correspondence. Messages generally explain SAR and its interest in the situation. Requests or demands shold be respectful and grounded in legal or other principles of an international or, where possible, domestic character. Requests or demands should be consistent with local political and legal structures or, where local structures or process is deficient, with internationally recognized principles of due process.

Use of names:
Alerts, campaigns and other activities are undertaken only under the name of Scholars at Risk. SAR member institution names are not used in any SAR alert or campaign activities or in any other way other than (i) reports on and tables of SAR membership, including in SAR member directories and (ii) for identification of individuals at the institution personally involved in SAR activities, in which case the institution name may be used for identification-only purposes.

SAR members, affiliates and related individuals may not use the name Scholars at Risk without the express written permission of the SAR office, other than to identify those persons and structures involved in local SAR-related activities and their relationship with the network.

Public statements / endorsements:
SAR alerts and campaigns focus on threats to individual scholars or universities. SAR generally does not issue broad political, policy or position statements nor endorse such statements issued by others. (Accordingly, absence of a statement from SAR should not be construed as support or opposition.) SAR members, affiliates or supporters inclined to issue such statements are asked to avoid using the name ‘Scholars at Risk', or where they deem it necessary to include the name to ensure that the use clearly identifies the name with the local SAR-related persons or structures as distinguished from the wider network.