27 January 2026, GENEVA – UN human rights experts* today expressed alarm over the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) – a publicly funded Swiss university – pursuing criminal prosecution of students who peacefully protested its partnerships with Israeli institutions.
“Publicly funded research must not contribute, directly or indirectly, to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. States and institutions have an obligation to ensure that this does not happen,” the experts said.
The experts noted that the collaborations reportedly involve universities that are integral to Israel’s military-industrial complex, working on artificial intelligence, surveillance, and weapon technologies potentially used in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Until October 2025, ETH Zurich’s website stated that no end-use controls existed over knowledge exchanged through fundamental research collaborations, and that the potential military application of its work could not be ruled out. While Switzerland introduced new dual-use export control regulations in May 2025, these do not apply to fundamental research. As such, responsibility largely appears to be delegated to individual researchers, without robust institutional oversight.
“The alleged integration of academic research into military systems raises serious questions of potential complicity in international crimes,” the experts said.
“Universities, especially those receiving public funding, have a legal obligation to uphold human rights standards and refrain from supporting, directly or indirectly, any unlawful acts or occupations, such as Israel’s control over the occupied Palestinian territory.”
In May 2024, around seventy students staged sit-ins at the university, calling for transparency and disengagement from research linked to the Israeli military-industrial complex. The experts noted that police were reportedly called within minutes, a large security presence deployed, and the sit-ins forcibly dispersed, despite no teaching being interrupted and no violence occurring.
Following the protests, 38 students received penal orders, including 17 who chose to appeal despite the significant personal and financial risks involved. Recent court decisions have upheld trespass convictions against five students, while acquitting two others on procedural grounds. Decisions for the remaining ten students are pending.
“Peaceful student activism, on and off campus, is part of students’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and must not be criminalised,” the experts said.
“Universities and States must ensure that expressing solidarity with human rights causes and demanding accountability from State institutions, especially in relation to well-documented instances of international crimes, do not lead to intimidation, prosecution, or long-term harm to students’ futures,” they said.
The experts urged Swiss authorities and the judicial system to take full account of Switzerland’s human rights obligations. They called for swift action regarding the potential complicity of research partnerships in international crimes and the criminalisation of peaceful student protests.
The experts have contacted the Swiss Government and ETH Zurich on this issue.
*The experts:
Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education;
Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association;
Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders;
Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967;
Damilola Olawuyi (Chairperson), Robert McCorquodale (Vice-Chairperson), Fernanda Hopenhaym, Lyra Jakulevičienė, and Pichamon Yeophantong, Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.
Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
UN Human Rights, country page – Switzerland
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