Photo: Miguela XuerebA protest will be held to call for the cancellation of the 33rd World Congress of the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP) expected to be held in Malta due to the involvement of institutions that are considered to complicit with Israel’s escalating violations of human rights in the Palestinian territories.
The protest will be held on Sunday 24 August at 4pm near the Hilton Hotel at the Gnien Spinola, St Julian’s, where the congress is expected to be hosted between the 24th and 28th of August.
Fifteen non-governmental organisations, together with the General Workers’ Union and the Momentum, have called for this congress to be cancelled.
Other organisations that will be participating include Ġustizzja għall-Palestina, Moviment Graffitti, Watermelon Warriors and The Lebanese Advocates.
In a statement, the government was called upon to cancel this congress so that Malta will not be complicit in violations of international law.
The congress is being hosted by the Israeli Speech Language and Hearing Association (ISHLA) through Israeli company Paragon Team.
Ġustizzja għall-Palestina had previously expressed “deep concern” over the event, arguing that Malta must not host institutions allegedly complicit in violations of international law and highlighted that ISHLA has acknowledged ties to Israeli military reservists and includes members residing in illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
Paragon Team, the event organiser, specialises in conferences across technological and engineering domains, including events for military unmanned vehicle sectors. The company’s exhibitors at such conferences have included Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, whose drones have allegedly been used in attacks on civilians in Gaza.
ISHLA operates within Israel’s regulated healthcare system, with the ministry of health responsible for licensing speech and language pathologists. The association works closely with government bodies on professional standards and policy matters.
“We cannot host complicit institutions party to Israel’s horrific deliberate starvation, relentless bombings, brutality and violence in Gaza and the West Bank. As with apartheid South Africa, institutions engaged in atrocity crimes must face consequences”, emphasised the protest’s organisers.
This protest is being organised in light of the confirmation by a coalition of United Nations agencies that the people in Gaza are now experiencing a full-blown famine, with at least 132,000 children under five facing life-threatening malnutrition.
The ongoing Gaza genocide, perpetrated by Israel, is continuing to oppress Palestinians, with Palestinian health authorities reporting that more than 62,000 people and counting have been killed since October 2023, including 258 deaths from starvation.
The protest’s organisers are therefore inviting the public to raise their voices against complicity in Israel’s genocide and for an Apartheid Free Malta.
