In August 2026, the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, the Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico), and the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas filed an amicus brief before the Andean Court of Justice regarding a labor dispute between Professor Cristina Burneo Salazar and the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Quito, Ecuador.
The case centers on the dismissal of Professor Burneo Salazar in December 2024 following a workplace harassment complaint she filed. She contends that she was terminated due to her stance as a feminist scholar, violating her academic freedom.
In the brief, our organizations emphasized international standards of academic freedom and the responsibility of universities to foster safe environments for scholars. We urged the Andean Court of Justice to consider academic freedom in its analysis when evaluating the merits of the case.