The University of Lyon withdraws the honorary title of “Doctor” given to the former dictator President of Burkina Faso
18 years after granting the title of “Doctor honoris causa” to Blaise Compaoré, sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of Thomas Sankara, the University of Lyon 3 wishes to reconsider this distinction.
In 2004, Blaise Compaoré was decorated with the title of “Doctor honoris causa” from the prestigious Jean Moulin University known as Lyon 3.
The former dictator of Burkina Faso was”sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, among others, of Thomas Sankara. This decision was made “so that the Lyon university” washes away the affront made to university values as much as to the people of Burkina Faso”, explains Éric Carpano, the director of Lyon 3 in a press release.
Former Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré was sentenced in absentia on April 6 by the military tribunal of Ouagadougou. He was found guilty of “undermining state security”, “concealment of a corpse” and “complicity in murder”, in the context of the murder, among others, of Thomas Sankara which occurred on October 15, 1987 and of the coup allowing him to gain power.
The reputation of Lyon 3 University has already been tarnished by several cases. Historically, accusations of Holocaust denial and the influence of certain radicalized groups have earned it an image of “right-wing, even far-right college”. More recently, problems of racism and harassment have been denounced by Unef. The Unef, which since 2004 denounced the honorary distinction of Blaise Compaoré by Lyon 3 and was one of the associations which at the time, had called to demonstrate against this decision. In a letter sent to the president of the university at the time, the student association was already wondering:
“What elements can allow a University to award an honorary title to the person responsible for such mismanagement, accompanied by an increase in human rights violations, in defiance of a people raised as one man since the end of 1998 under the watchword “enough is enough”?”
On September 19, 2022, two eminent law professors were named “honorary doctors” of Lyon 3 University.
Johannes MASING
Degree in law, philosophy and music, professor of constitutional law at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe between 2008 and 2020, former director of the Department of Environmental Law at his university.
His work focuses on the defense of fundamental rights and more generally on the analysis of the interactions of the various human rights protections at the national, European and international level.
Philip Sand
Professor of law and lawyer, Philippe Sands is committed to the defense of human rights, in the affirmation of international justice and is one of the pioneers in the definition of the crime of ecocide. Recently, he was one of the first international lawyers to call for the establishment of a special criminal court to judge the crime of aggression committed against Ukraine.
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In a press release, M Carpano specifies that “what was already unacceptable in 2004 is even more so today” and “Jean Moulin University has seriously failed in these values by awarding on April 23, 2004” a title to Blaise Compaoré, a man” having affirmed its people for years and symbol of a Francophonie misguided by the neocolonialism of “Françafrique””. The decision to withdraw his title will be submitted to the next administrative council of the university.