In their statement of 26 January 2024, the Lower Saxony State Rectors’ Conference (LHK) and the state universities in Lower Saxony united within it strongly emphasise that Lower Saxony’s universities represent a diverse and open-minded Germany which is based on the values outlined in the constitution. They stand in support of the liberal democratic order and strongly oppose all activities and efforts characterised by anti-science hostility, racism, intolerance and exclusion.
The Presidential Board of Leibniz University Hannover was involved in initiating and developing the statement. It fully reflects the position of the university management and therefore also serves as a statement from LUH.
The LUH Presidential Board has also already expressed its support for the statement from the German Rectors' Conference .
Statement from the Lower Saxony State Rectors’ Conference, 26 January 2024:
Lower Saxony’s universities united for a liberal democracy
The Lower Saxony Rectors’ Conference and the state universities in Lower Saxony united within it strongly support the statement of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) of 23 January, which emphasises the fundamental importance of liberal democracy and the rule of law for the German community in general and for academic freedom in particular.
For 75 years now, our constitution (Basic Law) has guaranteed us freedom, democracy and the rule of law to an unprecedented extent. Against the backdrop of the darkest chapter in our history, our constitution is characterised by the idea of “never again”. The mothers and fathers of the Basic Law therefore deliberately enshrined respect for and the inviolability of human dignity in the first article of our constitution as an absolutely inviolable principle. For us, inviolable and inalienable human rights are the basis of every human community, and of peace and justice in the world. Ethnocentric and inhuman thinking, extremism, anti-Semitism and fundamentalism in any form therefore have no place in Germany. We universities in Lower Saxony represent a diverse and cosmopolitan Germany that is based on the aforementioned values of our constitution. We stand in support of our liberal democratic order and strongly oppose all activities and efforts characterised by anti-science hostility, racism, intolerance and exclusion!
