Honorary Degree VUB & ULB

VUB and ULB jointly award an honorary doctorate to two human rights activists.

The ULB and the VUB will celebrate their common values, in particular, those related to freedom of speech and opinion, free thinking and the defence of human rights, by jointly handing over the insignia of an Honorary Degree to famous activists who have dedicated their lives to defend these values.

The VUB and the ULB are honoured to, together, symbolically reward the fight of these two personalities who have paid a heavy tribute to their struggle for the defence of rights and freedoms, including their pursuit of justice for all, including the most marginalised.

SihemBensedrine:from Tunisia, ex-journalist, human rights defender who was imprisoned under the Ben Ali regime and who is now the President of the Truth and Dignity Committee. She came back to Tunisia in 2011 after several years of exile.

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa: from Burundi, human rights defender and a pioneer in the fight against torture. He has been imprisoned several times in his country. Victim of an assassination attempt in 2015, he now lives in Belgium.