Statement of Solidarity with People of Palestine

PHM strongly condemns the attacks against Palestinian people by Israeli occupying forces and expresses full and unequivocal solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The recent attempts of Israeli occupying forces to expel Palestinian residents from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem is a continuation of the ethnic cleansing frequently committed by the Israeli occupying forces. These attempts violate the principles of international humanitarian law contained in the Geneva Convention that prohibits eviction and displacement of populations in occupied territories. Palestinian and international human rights organisations have widely denounced the unwillingness of the Israeli occupying forces to comply with UN guidelines and international regulatory provisions. Several human rights organizations, including Israeli groups, have been recognizing and criticising the apartheid nature of the Israeli occupying forces.

The full statement can be found here: English  Spanish

International Symposium: Human Rights Agend in the post-Pandemic Era May 20-23, 2021

Over a year and a half, the global pandemic has added new and unprecedented challenges for human rights on top of existing ones. Uncovering the pervasive inequality and injustice of the neoliberal world order, the pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of social and economic rights all over the world, and the profound ways in which they bear on the right to life.

It is in this context that the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey organises the international symposium, “Human Rights Agenda in the Post-Pandemic Era”. Some of the major questions we will be adressing are:

  • What does the corporatization of states signify for human rights?
  • How to defend truth in a post-truth world?
  • What do new technologies hold for the future of human rights? How should the human rights movement rise up to the challenges of the post-pandemic era?
  • What to learn from ongoing struggles?
  • And how to imagine new strategies?

    With the participation of scholars and activists from Turkey and abroad, the symposium will be held online on May 20-23, 2021. It aims to bring together activists, scholars, and the general public –particularly social groups with a potential to engage in human rights struggle– for discussing the alarming agenda of human rights and producing ideas with a view to overcoming current challenges.

SPEAKERS

Étienne Balibar | Emeritus Professor at Paris X Nanterre and Anniversary Chair of Modern European Philosophy at Kingston

Türkcan Baykal | Medical doctor, clinical psychologist and human rights defender. She graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Ege University

Tarık Beyhan | Campaigns and Communications Director at Amnesty International – Turkey. Having studied economics at Istanbul

Gaye Boralıoğlu | Graduate degree in philosophy and logic at the Faculty of Literature at Istanbul University

Éric Fassin | Professor of sociology in the Political Science Department and co-chair of the Gender Studies

Ahmet İnsel | Economist and political scientist

Warren Montag | Brown Family Professor of Literature at Occidental College in Los Angeles

Zeynep Gambetti | PhD in political philosophy from Paris Diderot University (Paris 7)

Aslı Odman | Social scientist, lecturer at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and a founding volunteer of Istanbul Occupational Safety and Health Assembly

Ranjana Padhi | Feminist activist and writer based in Odisha in East India

Ronald Niezen | Distinguished James McGill Chair, Professor of Anthropology and Associate Member of the Faculty of Law at McGill University

Nilgün Toker | Studied philosophy at Ege University (Izmir) and completed her PhD at Paris Saint-Denis University (Paris 8)

Feride Aksu Tanık | Professor of Public Health in HRFT Academy. She is a co-founder of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and serves at Turkish Medical Association’s Ethics Committee.

The full programme is available here | Register pressing here

Civil rights and public health during the pandemic in Greece

Amid the critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece a number of neoliberal policies, swiftly applied from the government, resulted in the restriction of fundamental rights, excessive use of force and police brutality in the cities, ‘suffocating’ conditions at public hospitals, as well as misinformation and propaganda spread across mass media. The authoritarian measures which the conservative, right-wing government of Nea Dimokratia has been enforcing, along with the violations of civil rights standards are raising significant continual threats. In response to these events and the rampant violent state repression, the groups Griechenland Solidarität and reAKT-Aktion Against Repression are hosting an online discussion, featuring speakers situated in the midst of these developments in Greece in their respectable fields. The discussion will touch upon these recent events and the risks arising from the political actions of the government.

Panel Discussion:

1. Alexis Benos (Health – Pandemic)- Political management of the pandemic
– Public health system in Greece
– Assigning responsibilities to health professionals (lawsuits)

2. Despina Paraskeva-Veloudogianni (Repression – Pandemic)- Visiting the connection between authoritarianism and the rise of repression due to governmental measures under the guise of public health safety.
– Feminists get arrested at Syntagma on the 25th of September 2020, during the Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
– The rise of repression under the guise of the pandemic consisting of:
*curfews ostensibly for the protection of public health
*Increase in fines for breach of lockdown measures
*Ban on gatherings
– Estimates for the future as well as the government’s agenda

3. Christos Avramidis (Repression – Movement)- The doctrine that is “Law & Order” imposed by the government during a very difficult period for the country (economic iris & pandemic) with an attempt to defeat public resistance
– Description of the situation regarding the measures and decisions of the government (mass media support, the Church, workers)
– Introduction of university police instead of enhancement of university education quality (recruitment, infrastructure, maintenance, equipment)
– Actions of the movement and a vision for the future

Please send an e-mail at griechenlandsoli@web.de to register and receive the Zoom Link!

The event is supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation

The Pandemic and Privatisation – how to fight back

The pandemic has been a goldmine for private contractors and management consultants. But while the private sector (not least Tory ministers’ chums and donors) celebrate their new-found riches, the fiascos of failed private services have been exposed to millions.

Privatised test and trace systems have become byword for failure, just as poor standards of hospital cleaning epitomised the failures of the first outsourced contracts in the 1980s.

The question is how health unions and campaigners can pool their knowledge and work together to develop the right publicity and information to show the folly and expose the waste and inefficiency of privatisation and outsourcing.

Join us for an online conference on February 25, called by Health Campaigns Together, working in partnership with the health unions UNISON, Unite and GMB, the PDA union, the TUC, Keep Our NHS Public, the NHS Support Federation (NHS For Sale), and The Lowdown.

It will hear short introductions on each of the topics before breaking into workshops to consider and discuss priorities and various lines of argument to reach out to the wider, uninformed public.

Speakers

Streatham MP BELL RIBEIRO-ADDY will chair the opening session

  • Privatisation – why it matters: speaker – PAUL EVANS, NHS Support Federation and co-editor The Lowdown
  • Billions wasted on PPE and Track and trace fiasco – speaker PASCALE ROBINSON, We Own It
  • Lighthouse (and mega) Labs: bypassing the public sector – speaker IAN EVANS, Chair, Unite Healthcare Sciences National OPC
  • The great consultancy boom from Covid to ICSs – speaker Dr SONIA ADESARA, NHS doctor and Keep Our NHS Public
  • NHS cash to the rescue for private hospitals: – speaker DAVID ROWLAND, Centre for Health in the Public Interest
  • Privatised staff as second class citizens – and the impact on the NHS: Speakers: JAMES ANTHONY, Vice President UNISON; JACALYN WILLIAMS acting national officer, Unite: and LOLA McEVOY, GMB
  • Learning lessons past & present: developing popular arguments & accessible information – speaker JOHN LISTER, editor Health Campaigns Together & co-editor The Lowdown
  • Shadow Health Secretary JONATHAN ASHWORTH MP will respond to the presentations and outline the opposition view

Register here to be kept informed.

This conference is supported by a Campaign Resource Pack including seven Briefing Sheets giving background on the key agenda topics and what we can learn from previous struggles as we fight to keep private hands off our NHS.

The Resource Pack can be downloaded below, or the individual Briefing Sheets can be downloaded individually from our Privatisation page.

For accessibility information for the conference please see http://rebrand.ly/HCT-accessibility

Support Academic Freedom for Boğaziçi University Students and Faculty

Turkey’s AKP government continues to undermine the rights and freedoms of individuals as well as the principle of autonomy of universities and civic organizations. Most recently, Turkish police have attacked and detained dozens of students who peacefully protested the AKP’s attempt to assert political control over Boğaziçi University in İstanbul.

On January 1, 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used an emergency decree from 2016 (KHK 676) to appoint Professor Melih Bulu, a loyal member of the ruling party, rector of Boğaziçi University. Bulu is not a member of the Boğaziçi University faculty, which violates the established rules and practices of University governance.[1]

This attempt by President Erdoğan to bring Boğaziçi University under his control has sparked widespread faculty and student protest.[2] The government’s response has been brutal. Erdoğan has called the students “terrorists” and LGBTI+ students in particular have been singled out for harassment.[3] The police have conducted home raids with guns drawn, detained and strip searched protestors, and engaged in torture.[4]

We the undersigned condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with the students and faculty of Boğaziçi University. We call upon Professor Bulu to decline the position and we call upon the Turkish government to release any students still in custody, withdraw all charges, and respect academic freedom and university autonomy.

[1] https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2021/01/07/students-detained-after-protesting-appointment-of-new-rector-of-bogazici-university
[2] https://www.duvarenglish.com/bogazici-university-remains-defiant-in-the-face-of-erdogans-attempts-to-crush-academic-freedom-news-55719
[3] https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkeys-erdogan-claims-terrorists-are-involved-in-bogazici-university-protests-news-55789; https://jurnaltr.com/bogazici-universitesinde-gozaltina-alinan-2-ogrenciye-zorla-ciplak-arama-yapildi-polis-ciplak-aramaya-direnen-ogrencileri-yere-yatirip-pantolonlarini-indirdi/
[4] https://www.duvarenglish.com/police-battery-of-bogazici-students-confirmed-by-medical-examinations-news-55774

Endorsements:

Research Institute on Turkey
Academic Solidarity Network
PEN America
Article 19
Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project
Academics for Peace – North America
Academics for Peace – Germany
Solidarité avec les Universitaires pour la Paix et Défense des Droits Humains en Turquie (SUP-DDHT) – France
Scholars at Risk (SAR)
SAR – Italy
EuroMed Rights
Interflugs – Berlin
SUNY Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU) – New York
AGSEM Executive committee, McGill University
Politics Department at Ithaca College, New York
Philosophy Department at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania
PhD/MA Program in Political Science, The Graduate Center, CUNY – New York
The Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center, CUNY – New York
SENS-UAW (The union of Student Academic Workers at The New School) – New York
Frederic Bastiat Institute of Cape Coast Technical University – Africa
The Board of the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE), Europe

SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ADD YOUR SIGNATURE. (Please note that your signature will not appear immediately. If your organization or association would like to endorse this letter, please write solidarityacademics@gmail.com)

Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

To sign and see signatures (more than 2500 until now), press here

Public Policy and Health in the Trump era

Thursday, February 11 Live program begins at 12 noon EST Join via Zoom Click here to RSVP   Those who RSVP will receive a reminder to join shortly before the program begins.

You are invited to the global launch event of the Lancet Commission on publicpolicy and health in the Trump era.

The Lancet Commission on public policy and health in the Trump era is the first comprehensive assessment of the health effects of President Trump’s policies. Led by 33 leading experts from the US, UK and Canada, the Commission was tasked with chronicling the repercussions of the administration’s actions and charting policies for a healthy future.

At the launch, the authors will present key findings and recommendations from the Commission. The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session chaired by Richard Horton, Editor-in-
Chief, The Lancet.

Register here

Presenters and speakers include:
• Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet
• Steffie Woolhandler (City University of New York at Hunter College, New York; Harvard
Medical School, Boston)
• David Himmelstein (City University of New York at Hunter College, New York; Harvard Medical
School, Boston)
• Mary T Basset (Harvard University, Cambridge)
• Kevin Grumbach (University of California, San Francisco)
More speakers to be added.

This event is hosted by Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. The Commission will be published by The Lancet on 11th February. The Commission was supported by grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Open Society Foundations.

The Lancet Commission on public policy and health in the Trump era is the first comprehensive assessment of the health effects of President Trump’s policies. Led by 33 leading experts from the US, UK and Canada, the Commission was tasked with chronicling the repercussions of the administration’s actions and charting policies for a healthy future. At the launch, the authors will present key findings and recommendations from the Commission. The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session chaired by Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet. 

Richard Horton will offer welcome remarks. Key findings of the commission will be presented by Roosevelt House faculty associates Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein, Distinguished Professors of Public Health at Hunter College, City University of New York, and Lecturers at Harvard Medical School; Mary T. Basset, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University; and Kevin Grumbach, Professor of Family Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. (More speakers to be added.) This event is hosted by Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. The Commission will be published by The Lancet on 11th February. The Commission was supported by grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Open Society Foundations.

Dr. Şeyhmus Gökalp, member of the Turkish Medical Association, is arrested!

Dr. Gökalp is an elected member of High Disciplinary Committee of Turkish Medical Association 2020-2022. He was an elected member of Central Council of Turkish Medical Association during 2014-2018.

Dr. Gökalp is a very well known physician. On 20th of November he was taken into custody from his home where he lives with her wife and two young daughters and 4 days later he has been arrested. He has been accused of being participated in a meeting that he did not participate. Later slanders of the false witness added to the indictment.His arrest is a part of the attacks against TMA because of the effective efforts to protect public health during Covid-19 pandemic.

IAHPE believes that national and international solidarity and the support of public opinion will end this unfair and unlawful arrestment.