B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner is calling on universities, colleges, and other public institutions to stand up for and protect the rights of students and staff.

In a statement, Kasari Govender says there must be no place in B.C. for antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, or public incitement or willful promotion of hatred against any group.

So long as those limits are not violated, the statement says, universities, colleges and public institutions should stand up for and protect the rights of students, faculty, and staff to make their voices heard on campus, including through peaceful encampments.

She says police also have a duty to uphold and respect the law, including respecting human rights protections.

Protest encampments are springing up on campuses across the country, including BC.

Govender’s statement said rights and responsibilities do not end at campus gates, adding campus communities have the right to peaceful and lawful assembly and free expression.

She says peaceful demonstration is essential in part because it allows us to speak up against injustice and violence, even when such views are controversial.

Govender says how decision-makers react to student protests now will mark the strength of our democracy and our human rights protections long into the future.