Civil society organisations, Momentum and the General Workers’ Union are calling for an international conference due to start tomorrow in Malta to be cancelled due to the organisers’ links to Israel.
In a statement, the group said the 33rd World Congress of the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP) — due to take place at the Hilton Hotel in St Julian’s — should not take place, and that they plan to protest the event on Sunday.
“Why? Because it is being organised by institutions — the Israeli [Speech Language and Hearing] Association ISHLA and Paragon Team — that are deeply complicit with Israel’s escalating violations of human rights”, the group said Saturday.
The ISHLA is the Israel-based member of the IALP, which activists say has links to Israeli military reservists and includes persons based in illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
Israeli event organiser Paragon Team, meanwhile, has featured Israeli weapons manufacturers at its events, activists say.
Activists argue the upcoming conference in Malta features speakers from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
They plan to protest the event at 4pm at Ġnien Spinola in St Julian’s.
The group stressed that “Malta must not be complicit in violations of international law. 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.”
In comments to Times of Malta, the IALP stressed it was a non-political organisation that focused on supporting the work of its members, which it said worked “for the benefit of persons with speech, language, voice, swallowing and hearing disorders”.
Select the organising member of the congress had been a “structured and inclusive process”, where the ISHLA won by popular vote, it said.
It said the conference originally slated for Tel Aviv had been moved to Malta “due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East”, noting Malta’s neutral status and it being the location of the IALP head office.
It added that the Israeli association “assumed entire responsibility” for organising the congress.
“IALP is aware of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. IALP is already actively engaged in global initiatives that reflect its commitment to equitable service delivery — such as its ongoing contribution to the Emergencies workstream led by the World Rehabilitation Alliance”, it said.
“In line with its mission to support professionals delivering care in emergency contexts, IALP intends — once circumstances permit — to provide support to communication, speech, language, voice, hearing, and swallowing professionals in Gaza.”
Saturday’s statement was signed by Ġustizzja għall-Palestina, Moviment Graffitti, PEN, The Lebanese Advocates, Watermelon Warriors, Aditus, LGBQTI+ (MGRM), KSM, Inizjamed, Blue Door Education, African Media Association Malta, Momentum, General Workers’ Union, Ghaqda Newtralita u Paci and ATAL.