UAB Senate issues statement on the situation in Gaza
Given the serious escalation of violence in Gaza and the West Bank - a situation that the International Court of Justice in The Hague has considered plausible to be considered as genocide - the UAB expresses its full solidarity with the affected population, and demands a peaceful resolution of the conflict based on the culture of peace and respect for international legality.
Considering dialogue and negotiation as the only valid ways for the resolution of conflicts, and given the situation of extreme humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the UAB Senate declares:
1. Its rejection of the systematic violence exercised by the Israeli army against the Palestinian civilian population. Given that the Secretary General of the United Nations has declared that a sustained ceasefire is the only way to avoid an even greater humanitarian disaster for the population of Gaza, the UAB Senate declares itself institutionally in favor of the immediate cessation of military actions in the Gaza Strip in accordance with the position set by the UN Security Council.
2. The UAB Senate asks the Governing Team to review and, if necessary, suspend collaboration agreements with Israeli universities, companies and research centres that do not express a clear commitment to peace, international law and fundamental human rights. Observance of international law and respect for human rights are at the basis of the establishment of a just and lasting peace that protects the civilian population regardless of their ethnic, ideological or religious background.
3. The UAB Senate requests that the Governing Team ensure that research and technology transfer activities do not in any way contradict the firm commitment to the culture of peace. It also expressly urges the entire university community to adhere to this UAB commitment.
4. The UAB Senate proposes to the Governing Team and the Executive Administrator that they work to welcome university students who are refugees due to the consequences of the military operations deployed by the Israeli army. In this same line, it also proposes to establish collaboration mechanisms with Palestinian universities in order to favor the exchange of students, academic training, the promotion of research and other cultural, social and economic relations.
5. Finally, the Senate requests the Governing Team to create a commission to follow up on the commitments acquired with the approval of this declaration. To this end, it is proposed that the UAB Governing Council be entrusted with the definition of its composition and functions.
Bellaterra, 30 May 2024
The UAB, with Sustainable Development Goals
Reduced inequalities
No poverty