From Transnational Repression to Protection across Borders
Written by Lowis Mayer
Lowis Mayer has been interning with Justice & Peace on the Human Rights Defenders and Security team. Next to her work in supporting human rights defenders and partner network, she followed a course at Off-University. In this article she shares her reflections:
“Transnational repression (TNR) is government actors reaching beyond state borders to silence dissent among diaspora and exiled activists – and it is on the rise globally. What this means to human rights defenders in exile varies widely, but the strategies of control, as well as the adaptive response by activists and institutions, share similarities across countries and regions. The university, as an institution, has unique potential to host and protect exiled scholars at risk.
I had the chance to learn about these topics during a course offered by Off-University on “Exile, Activism, and the University,” which I completed as part of my internship at Justice & Peace. Off-University is an online university by politically persecuted scholars, offering free and accredited courses on socially relevant themes. During the course, I attended online lectures by scholars and activists from all over the world, who shared their academic research or personal stories.
Together with another student from the course, I had the chance to research TNR in Kenya. Within the country, democratic freedoms have been backsliding significantly, especially since the 2024 youth protests that were met with a violent crackdown by the government. Through our research, we found that in the last years, Kenya has been increasingly engaging in TNR. There are several instances where political opposition leaders or independent human rights defenders who sought shelter in Kenya from persecution in their own countries, had been tracked and deported with the help of the Kenyan government. One example of that is Dr. Besigye, a Ugandan opposition politician, who was illegally abducted and deported to Uganda.[1]
As political repression increasingly extends across borders, political solidarity and activist protection must do the same.
Existing protection pathways are diverse and include temporary relocation programmes (such as the Shelter City network) as well as more permanent protection for exiled activists. In the context of (semi-)permanent protection, universities have a unique potential to shelter exiled scholars at risk by providing fellowships or paid positions, housing, access to international networks, and more.[2] Hosting politically persecuted scholars also enriches the university’s study programs and research and helps protecting academic freedom globally. Off-University is an incredible example of how international activist protection and educational institutions can go hand in hand and strengthen each other.
In order to protect and strengthen the crucial work of human rights defenders, local civil society must be strengthened and expanded, while secure international temporary and permanent protection pathways must offer the possibility to human right defenders to continue their activism from abroad – whether near or close to home.”
[1] Uganda: Opposition politician charged after abduction: Kizza Besigye – Amnesty International