Establishing or strengthening responsible international partnerships

You will find detailed information and procedures on the staff portal . Please visit this page if you wish to submit or renew a project.

Before concluding or renewing an agreement or an institutional project, it is necessary to assess the risks that may affect international law, fundamental rights, academic freedom and compliance with applicable regulations, particularly in relation to dual-use items and sanctions. This assessment is based on the partnership and the proposed activities, and not solely on the partner’s nationality or country of origin.
The University’s International Relations Office and Research Department are responsible for ensuring compliance with international law, fundamental rights and dual use with the support of the Committee on Compliance with International Law and Dual-Use.
This committee has developed several tools designed to help members of the university community better assess applications or proposals for international projects or partnerships.
One tool enables an analysis of the partner institution or research project to be carried out before entering into a new partnership or when renewing an existing one. The Committee on Compliance with International Law and Dual-Use may be consulted if a person has any doubts about the partner in question. The other tool enables swift action to be taken if it appears that one of our partners is failing to respect international law, fundamental rights or academic freedom.

Prevention: the fundamental rights test

The primary responsibility for assessing a partnership lies with members of the academic community involved in establishing new partnerships. For this reason, before entering into or renewing a partnership, we invite you to assess the risks associated with that partnership using the fundamental rights test.
Full details of the test can be found on the Fundamental Rights Test page.

The reaction: the fundamental rights clause

The ULB has decided to include a fundamental rights clause in its agreements with its partners. This clause allows a partnership to be terminated or suspended if there is evidence that either party is involved in a serious or systematic violation of fundamental rights. The Committee on Compliance with International Law and Dual-Use is the body responsible for carrying out this assessment.
This clause enables partners to take action if fundamental rights violations occur after the partnership has been signed or if they were not known at the time the partnership was signed. It is important to note that this clause is reciprocal and therefore also applies to the ULB.

Committee on Compliance with International Law and Dual-Use

The Committee on Compliance with International Law and Dual-Use aims to ensure that the ULB’s international relations are built on partnerships that comply with the principles of international law and dual-use regulations. Its scope is limited to institutional partnerships; these partnerships involve the university as such.
The Committee has no decision-making power; it issues recommendations, which are submitted to the Rector and/or the Academic Council, who decide whether or not to implement them.
The Committee comprises permanent members holding certain positions within the University, as well as academics who are experts in international law and fundamental rights, and academics specialising in dual-use issues. Any member of the Standing Committee may propose consulting experts. Experts act in an advisory capacity and do not have the right to vote on recommendations.
If you have any questions regarding the committee, please get in touch with the Committee’s point of contact lara.rauwers@ulb.be.

Dual use

Throughout their research, ULB researchers must consider the potential risks associated with the ways in which their research might be used. It is particularly important to ensure that such research is not misused for hostile purposes.
These are dual-use goods, i.e. products – including software and technologies – that may be used for both civilian and military purposes. Two aspects should therefore be noted:

• Research objectives that are prohibited worldwide: the development of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical) and the development of conventional weapons;
• Unintended indirect contributions of research: to weapons of mass destruction, to conventional weapons, or for prohibited or contrary purposes (human rights violations, terrorism).

In certain cases, authorisation (a licence) may be required. For further information, please consult the intranet page dedicated to dual-use items

Useful links

• Check the context of the country in which the partner is based via the index Freedom in the world, the Index Academic Freedom or the CSR Risk Check Tool
• Check whether the partner is listed in the EU Sanction Map 
• Sectors and companies: Business and Human Rights Centre
• Academic Institutions: Scholars At Risk et Global Public Policy
• High Risk Ressources: Responsible Sourcing Tool
• NGO's: Human Rights Watch ou Amnesty
• The role of universities as actors for human rights: Universities as Human Rights Actor