The Academic Senate Votes on a Motion Regarding the War in Gaza

The Academic Senate of the University of Bologna has deliberated today on a motion presented by the student representatives. The motion expressed various requests related to the University's position on the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, its current or future relationships with Israeli companies involved in the arms industry, and more generally with military sector companies and entities such as the Italian Navy.

In the previous Senate session in April, the University of Bologna had already clarified - after careful monitoring of all ongoing agreements - that it does not have relationships with Israeli universities exposed to the risk of dual-use (civilian and military use).

Today, after receiving a delegation of student collectives who expressed their reasons in support of the motion, and after giving the floor to two Palestinian women accompanied by two children who survived the bombings in the Strip and arrived in Italy for medical treatment, the Senate discussed the motion.

Following the discussion, the Senate decided to express a favourable vote, without any reformulation, on points 2 and 17 of the motion: "That the University of Bologna becomes a spokesperson for the ideals of peace and justice at the next meeting of the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI) by committing to discuss the involvement of Italian universities in the occupied Palestinian territories, in war contexts, and more generally, in the war industry" and "That the University of Bologna communicates the decisions approved by the Academic Senate in the meeting of 21 May 2024, to all structures and branches of the University; and that it promotes the respect and implementation of the resolutions in the conduct of research, teaching, and third mission activities by every university component".

The Senate then discussed point 1 of the motion, which called for the condemnation of the destruction of universities in the Gaza Strip, and reformulated it as follows, making it even broader: "The University of Bologna condemns any military aggression against university institutions, university staff, and university students and commits to promoting and supporting initiatives of reception for teachers, researchers, and students from universities under attack in war contexts, in collaboration with national and international partners. With particular reference to the situation in the Gaza Strip, where military operations have led to the destruction of much of the tertiary education system, the University of Bologna - already engaged in this goal through dialogues with international organizations and networks - reaffirms its commitment to adopt specific measures to welcome and/or support scholars and students in their activities and continuation of their studies and strives to encourage the adoption of similar measures at the national level".

The Senate then discussed points 3, 5, 15, and 16 of the motion, which converged on requesting the interruption of relationships with Israeli companies active in the arms industry, strengthening regulations against dual-use, and rejecting agreements with companies predominantly engaged in the production of armaments.

The Senate reformulated and synthesized these requests into a commitment to adopt increasingly updated and stringent rules, also through appropriate methods of involvement and participation, starting with student representatives: "The University of Bologna is already committed to the constant updating and improvement of its regulations, in line with national and international laws and their progressive updates, to prevent or minimize possible dual-use risks associated with its scientific activities, as demonstrated by the explicit introduction of this issue in the new Code of Ethics and Conduct and, shortly, in the new agreement models with companies, as well as the application of DNSH to all PNRR projects and the sharing, in April 2022, of the CRUI guidelines on dual-use. The University of Bologna commits to further strengthening its regulations, in light of national and international legislation and its developments, to prevent, eliminate or at least minimize dual-use risks possibly associated with its scientific and educational activities, as well as in national and international consultancy and collaborations. The University of Bologna intends to carry out this activity by ensuring maximum participation from the entire academic and student community, as well as constant dialogue with other universities and civil society, as already done in the case of the revision of the Code of Ethics and Conduct, furthermore promoting every process of awareness, sharing, and debate that helps to critically address the issue of dual-use".

The Senate then discussed points 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the motion, which from various perspectives called for the interruption or rejection of agreements with public or private entities guilty of human rights violations or located in occupied territories, such as Ariel University. The Senate reformulated these points as follows: "The University of Bologna is determined to continue constant monitoring of all its scientific and educational initiatives and to use increasingly appropriate, updated, and effective regulatory tools to ensure that its collaborations do not involve universities, research entities, or other public or private entities, of any nationality, that - according to the judgment of competent national or international bodies - are recognized as responsible for human rights violations and international law violations. The University of Bologna commits to rescinding any current agreements with universities, research entities, or other public or private entities should the partners fall under the above conditions".

For all the above points, as reformulated, the Senate expressed a favourable vote.

Finally, the Senate expressed an unfavourable vote for points 8 ("That the University of Bologna withdraw its team's participation in the 'Leonardo Drone Contest,' by rescinding the respective contract"), 9 ("That the University of Bologna rescinds the Memorandum of Understanding signed with NATO, as well as any type of agreement or contract signed with the military alliance"), and 10 ("That the University of Bologna rescinds the collaboration agreement, as well as any other active contract, with the Italian Navy"), because the Contest mentioned in point 8 represents an event in which student teams freely participate in technological innovation projects not aimed at dual-use, and because the agreements in points 9 and 10 represent examples of collaborations with Italian State sectors or international organizations to which Italy adheres.