About the IHRN

The International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies (IHRN) is an international consortium of honorary societies in the sciences, engineering, and medicine with a shared interest in human rights.

The IHRN advocates in support of professional colleagues suffering human rights abuses, promotes the free exchange of ideas and opinions among scientists and scholars, and supports the independence and autonomy of national academies and scholarly societies worldwide. It also raises global awareness of the connections between human rights and science, engineering, and medicine.​

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Events
Statements
Resources
  • Abandoned hospital

    Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflict

    Recognizing the important role that national academies and the global STEMM community can play in addressing attacks on health care in conflict zones, the Committee on Human Rights (CHR) of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which serves as the IHRN Secretariat, has developed a new interactive resource to help inform efforts to respond to this global problem.

    View the Resource

  • IHRN Bulletin - Issue 5

    The 5th issue of the IHRN Bulletin is now available.

    This biannual bulletin contains updates from the IHRN Secretariat and highlights IHRN participating academies’ human rights events, publications, and announcements. Read past issues of the bulletin.

    To receive future issues of this bulletin and other news from the IHRN, subscribe to the IHRN mailing list.

    Read the Issue 5 Bulletin
  • 15th Biennial Meeting of the IHRN

    The Relationship between Academic Freedom and Human Rights

    ‍In September 2025, the IHRN held a symposium on escalating threats to human rights and academic freedom around the world. The event was part of the 15th biennial meeting of the IHRN, held in Oslo, Norway and hosted by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

    A brief synopsis of the meeting, along with photos and video recordings, can be found on the meeting webpage.

    Read the Symposium Summary
“No words are enough to express my recognition to the efforts of the members of your Institutions and those of the International Network on my behalf…I am convinced that I owe my release in a great extent to all of you.”
— Oscar Espinosa Chepe