The 39th World Cultural Council Award Ceremony successfully held at McGill University

The 39th World Cultural Council Award Ceremony as successfully hosted by McGill University at its historic downtown campus in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

Consejo Cultural Mundial

 

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39th Award Ceremony of the WCC

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Credit: Photos by Owen Egan and Joni Dufour

The 39th World Cultural Council Award Ceremony as successfully hosted by McGill University at its historic downtown campus in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. 

 

At this event, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science and the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts were conferred upon distinguished leaders in their respective fields, in recognition of their tireless pursuit of the advancement of human culture and well-being. In addition, four young academic leaders from McGill received special recognition at the ceremony for their remarkable performance early in their careers through their groundbreaking and impactful work. 

 

Speaking at the ceremony, Provost Christopher Manfredi said “…the purpose of this afternoon's award ceremony is, I believe, multifaceted. First it is of course a wonderful occasion to celebrate the work of two outstanding individuals both richly deserving of recognition. Irish author, playwright, and filmmaker Cónal Creedon winner of the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts and upon Danish evolutionary biologist Eske Willerslev, winner of the Albert Einstein World Award of Science. We look forward to honouring their work and achievements. Second, by highlighting their contributions along with those of four promising McGill scholars also honoured here this afternoon; we are reminded of the powers of the Arts and Sciences to deeper our understanding of our own humanity and our interconnectedness to the environment that surround us.”

 

Professor Omar Yaghi expressed the thoughts of Sir Fraser Stoddart, “It is a great pleasure for the World Cultural Council to celebrate its 39th Award Ceremony at McGill University, one of the leading seats of learning in Canadian and, indeed, in the world. We are delighted to enhance our relations with such institutions through a higher event that underlies our common values and joint efforts directed toward the benefit of humankind. These aims blend perfectly with the vision of the World Cultural Council, which seeks to contribute to a culture which brings the inhabitants of this planet towards a better world, in which all differences are respected, a culture that promotes progress and fulfils our life with enriched attainments.”

 

Eske Willerslev, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Copenhagen and Prince Philip Professor at the University of Cambridge, is the winner of the Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2024. Prof. Willerslev is credited with establishing the field of environmental DNA as a revolutionary means of understanding ourselves as humans and the world surrounding us. His broad scientific impact forces us to rethink the origins and evolution of human groups, languages, and behaviour. His discoveries have influenced how scientists’ approach Indigenous communities. He has respectfully worked alongside Indigenous Peoples on several continents and his findings have resulted in the repatriation of various human remains to their rightful descendants.

 

In his acceptance speech, Professor Eske Willerslev thanked the WCC for recognizing his work, “I see the award as a great acknowledgment of the scientific fields of ancient human genomics, pathogen genomics, and environmental DNA - fields that I have spent my entire career on.

 

These fields are revolutionizing the way we understand ourselves as humans and the world surrounding us. Through this research, we have learned that our species has been mobile as far back as we can track human history and that the world we know today, with populations located in specific geographical regions, is, for the most part, very recent. We, as humans, are all closely related and share a common past and history, something we should not forget in times of conflict.

 

We have also learned that disease outbreaks, like the one we faced recently, go much further back in time than previously thought and have shaped our demography and genetics both historically and prehistorically.”

 

The 2024 World Cultural Council Leonardo da Vinci Award of Arts, has been awarded to novelist, playwright, documentary film maker, essayist, and collaborative artist, Cónal Creedon.  Through his artistic works, Cónal Creedon has received acclaim for peeling back the layers of Cork city’s history and culture with insights from different periods of his life. He captures its essence, while simultaneously providing a vivid portrait, as he immerses the reader into his hometown. His detailed investigation of such a tight-knit neighbourhood reveals insights into the universal nature of the human condition and constitutes a significant contribution to the artistic legacy of creative expression.

 

Cónal Creedon acknowledge the award by saying “It's a great personal honour for me to accept this award. It is an honour for my home place of Cork city in Ireland –  

and indeed, it is an honour for Irish people across the world.

It is extremely special to have the luxury – to be able to work at what I love doing. 

So, it is very humbling for me to receive the World Cultural Council – Leonardo da Vinci Award of Arts for effectively following my own heart, indulging my passion, and living my dream.”

 

 

 

 

The four special recognition recipients are promising young research leaders at McGill University. Alicia Boatswain-Kyte, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work; Jin Guo, Assistant Professor at the School of Computer Science; Kristy Ironside, Associate Professor of Russian History at the Department of History and Classical Studies and Nagissa Mahmoudi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

 

Call for Awards Nominations 2025 of the World Cultural Council

 

The World Cultural Council is now accepting nominations for the Albert Einstein and the José Vasconcelos 2025 Awards. Nominations must be submitted by November 29, 2024, midnight Central European Time (CET).

 

THE AWARDS

Nominees for the Albert Einstein World Award of Science should be eminent scientists whose achievements can serve as an inspiration for future generations. 

 

A candidate for the José Vasconcelos World Award of Education should be a renowned educator, an authority in the field of teaching, or an individual who has promoted education policies. 

 

INFLUENCE OF THEIR WORK

In addition to considering the candidate’s breakthrough achievements, the jury will also take into account the service which each candidate has made to humankind and their qualities as a role model who inspires future generations to contribute to a better world.

Self-nominations are not accepted. Renomination of previous nominees is possible and encouraged.

 

NOMINATION SUBMISSION OUTLINE

To nominate online or for further details of the awards, please visit.

 

Since 1984 the WCC has held a yearly Award Ceremony, granting prizes to outstanding scientists, educators and artists whose remarkable work in the fields of knowledge, learning and research has contributed positively to the cultural enrichment of mankind.

 

For further details on the event please, visit: 

https://www.consejoculturalmundial.org  

 

Mélanie Aebischer

Press Office

communication@consejoculturalmundial.org

 EXPLAINER

What’s behind India’s latest #MeToo movement in Malayalam cinema?

A probe panel’s report has lifted the veil on widespread sex abuse in the industry, with more women coming forward with allegations too.

Indian National Congress (INC) party workers wear masks of celebrities from the country's Kerala-based Mollywood film industry during a protest against the government's action over sexual allegations within the industry, in Kochi on August 30, 2024 [Arun Chandrabose/AFP]

By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 23 Sep 202423 Sep 2024

A spate of allegations of sexual misconduct has rocked the film industry in India’s southern state of Kerala, triggering a flood of police cases and leading to calls for a broader reckoning within what is known as Mollywood.

The latest wave of the #MeToo movement, which first took off in 2017, erupted after the findings of an inquiry – into issues faced by men and women in the film industry – prepared by a government-appointed panel known as the Hema Committee, were published on August 19. The report unveiled rampant sexual abuse alongside other workplace violations against women who work in the Malayalam film industry. Malayalam is the dominant language of Kerala.

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Sexual harassment is “the worst evil” faced by women in the industry, the report, which spans more than 200 pages, said.

So, what’s happening in Malayalam cinema, what does the report say, and what’s next?

Why was the Hema Committee set up?

In February 2017, an actress was abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men in a car when she was commuting in Kerala, which sits on India’s southern Malabar coast. The men recorded a video of the assault.

In response to this incident, 18 women from the Malayalam film industry came together under the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). Malayalam actor Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan – better known by his stage name Dileep – was arrested in July 2017 for allegedly orchestrating the assault. He was released on bail after three months. The court is still hearing the case.

Al Jazeera emailed Dileep’s lawyer, Raman Pillai, seeking responses to specific questions pertaining to the allegations against the actor, and those in the Hema Committee report. Pillai has not responded.

In November 2017, acting on an appeal from the WCC, the state government of Kerala established the three-member Hema Committee tasked with investigating issues faced by women and men working in the industry. The committee comprised retired Kerala High Court Justice K Hema, former actor Sharada and retired bureaucrat KB Valsala Kumari.

The committee gathered insights from male and female actors, makeup artists, cinematographers and other crew through online surveys and in-person interviews. Videos, screenshots and photos as potential evidence were also collected. Additionally, a member of the committee visited the shooting of a film released in 2019. This was done to study the environment on a film set.

What is the Hema Committee report?

In late 2019, the committee submitted its report to the state government. In late August 2024, a redacted version was made public, with the names of all victims and perpetrators removed.

The late release of the report was criticised by opposition politicians including Shashi Tharoor, a parliamentarian from the Congress party, who said in August: “It is utterly shameful and shocking that the government sat on this report for nearly five years now

The government said the report’s release was delayed because it contained sensitive information. “Justice Hema had written to the government on February 19, 2020, urging that the report not be released due to the sensitive nature of the information,” Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was quoted saying by local media in August.

Yet even with details withheld, the report led to shockwaves across India because of what it revealed.

“It’s not just reporting on sexual violence, it shows power equations of the industry, other kinds of violations like discrimination exploitation and retribution,” said J Devika, a feminist academic from Kerala.

What were the report’s key findings?

• “Denial of human rights to women in cinema”: On several film sets, women do not have access to changing rooms or toilets. This, the report found, causes health issues including urinary tract infections, and women on set “have landed up in hospitals on some occasions”.
• “Casting couch”: The report said that women in the industry, especially aspiring actresses, are pressured for sexual favours by actors, producers or directors in exchange for roles in films and other opportunities to advance their careers. Some witnesses produced video clips, audio clips and screenshots of WhatsApp messages to back their claims. The practice is shrouded in euphemism. “‘Compromise’ and ‘adjustment’ are two terms which are very familiar among women in Malayalam film industry,” the report said.
• Online harassment: Several women and men told the committee that they were harassed and trolled in online messages and social media posts. This trolling can be sexual in nature, where actresses receive threats of rape and assault alongside unsolicited images in their inboxes.
• Contract issues: Written contracts lack specific details about the nature of the scenes actors will be required to perform. Some actresses were quoted in the report as saying they were asked to do sexually explicit scenes they were uncomfortable doing, and had not been informed beforehand. Many women also do not get proper remuneration due to unclear contracts, the report said.

Among its recommendations, the report asks for the establishment of a judicial tribunal, which will function as a civil court and would allow women to file complaints.

The government has yet to establish such a tribunal, but it has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into a flood of new allegations about past instances of sexual misconduct made by actresses following the report’s publication

Flood of allegations

After the report was published, many more Malayali actresses came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Among them:

• Actress Minu Muneer lodged sexual misconduct complaints against seven actors on August 27, including Mukesh, who is also a state legislator from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which governs Kerala. He has denied the allegations against him and claimed that Muneer previously asked him for money and later tried to blackmail him. On August 27, local media quoted him as welcoming a transparent investigation and saying: “This group, which has been persistently blackmailing me for money, has now turned against me at this opportune moment”. Jayasurya, another of the actors accused by Muneer, has also denied the allegation.
• Sreelekha Mitra, an actress known best for her work in Bengali cinema, accused director Ranjith Balakrishnan of sexual harassment in 2009. The police registered a case against Balakrishnan on August 26. Balakrishnan has claimed these allegations are false, saying that he interacted with Mitra in the presence of a screenwriter and two assistants, according to the Indian digital publication The News Minute.

The entire executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), led by one of Malayalam cinema’s biggest superstars, Mohanlal, resigned as some members were themselves implicated in accusations of sexual misconduct.

The SIT, which has received an unredacted version of the Hema Committee report, is now preparing for face-to-face interviews with the actresses who alleged harassment in the report.

What’s next?

Activists, already frustrated with the government’s five-year delay in making the Hema Committee report public, are calling for the names of the alleged perpetrators identified by the panel of experts to be made public.

Devika said it was a “gross violation of the law of the land” to shield their identities, adding that “it is not common for the accused to be protected in this way”.

She said more clarity was needed on how the tribunal recommended by the committee would function, cautioning against a mechanism that could undermine other institutions that deal with sexual harassment complaints.

“Top-down structures erode the credibility of the ones that already exist,” she argued.

Since 2013, Indian law has required every workplace with more than 10 employees to have an internal complaints committee to address issues of workplace sexual misconduct. In practice, however, the implementation of this law has been spotty.

In 2022, the Kerala High Court ordered film production houses to set up these committees. According to Devika, some of the committees are weak and ineffective. But under the law, complainants can also take their allegations to district-level local complaints committees.

Despite their flaws, internal and district committees are usually more approachable for women than a top-down tribunal, Devika argued. “The tribunal is imagined as a supra body”, outside the film industry, she said. “Some of us actually think that you’re cutting off access to justice. Fewer women will be likely to complain if such mechanisms are set up.”

The need to set up another tribunal despite existing mechanisms which are supposed to tackle cases of sexual crimes at the workplace also raises a broader question, Devika said.

“As Indian citizens, how can we say that the existing law won’t protect women just because they work in the cinema?”

The WCC has been posting what it argues are solutions and recommendations on their social media pages following the report’s release.

Beyond naming and shaming

“After the report came out, the questions have been: ‘Who is the perpetrator? Who are these men? Why are they being protected?'” said Nidhi Suresh, an Indian journalist who covered the 2017 case in great detail for The News Minute.

She explained that actresses who have come forward with public allegations following the report’s release have lost work opportunities.

This was echoed by filmmaker and WCC founding member Anjali Menon. The Press Trust of India, a news agency, quoted her saying: “It is true that we have paid the price of losing work opportunities when we spoke up, but over the last seven years, we have consistently made our points and we now have immense support from the media, the legal community and the public”.

Suresh told Al Jazeera that she understood the risks involved. If names of alleged perpetrators are revealed, the identity of victims could be easy to discern too, she said. “If they are releasing the names of the perpetrators, it’s going to have to be done in a very responsible manner,” she said.

Either way, Suresh said that the movement that exploded after the Hema Committee report and the subsequent allegations by other women was about more than just naming and shaming perpetrators. What’s needed, she said, are structural changes to how the film industry treats women.

“One conversation that’s been happening a lot here is people have been comparing this movement to the Weinstein movement,” she said, referring to the movement that grew in 2017 when more than 80 women came forward, accusing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse.

The Kerala film industry #MeToo movement is not just about exposing sexual predators in the industry, she said, but reshaping how the industry is structured as well as how it treats women.

“This is about trying to rethink safer workspace culture”.

Source: Al Jazeera

India: Hema report reveals sex harrasment in 'Mollywood'

"Showbiz is not just patriarchal, it's also feudal in character."

Murali Krishnan in Palakkad, Kerala

DW

AUGUST 29, 2024

The movie industry in India's southern state of Kerala faces a major upheaval after a damning report uncovered sexual harassment and exploitation of female professionals.

Mollywood is the multi-million dollar Malayalam-language film industry based in the southern Indian state of KeralaI

mage: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto/picture alliance

This article includes accounts of rape and sexual assault

Mollywood, the Malayalam-language film industry based in the southern Indian state of Kerala, is under intense scrutiny amid a deepening sexual abuse scandal involving some of its top movie stars and industry leaders.

A landmark report into issues faced by women in Mollywood, which was made public last week, revealed that "sexual harassment of women is rampant," putting the spotlight on the movie industry's darker side.

The report uncovered that women in the film industry face numerous issues including sexual demands, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, lack of safety in the workplace, insufficient basic facilities and wage disparities.

The Hema report states that control of the film industry is wielded by a cabal of male producers, directors and actors

Image: Money Sharma/EPA/dpa/picture alliance

Since the so-called Hema Committee report was made public, numerous women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against male actors and filmmakers.

The Kerala police have registered at least 17 cases involving prominent figures in the film industry so far.

"Actors are coming out to name and shame their abusers. They are showing courage and recounting their ordeals. Further disclosures are expected," a senior police officer told DW on condition of anonymity.

The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) was dissolved after its entire executive committee stepped down in light of the report's findings. A new governing body is expected to be elected within two months.

Local media widely reported that noted Mollywood director Ranjith resigned as the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, a non-profit that promotes Malayalam cinema, following allegations of inappropriate behavior by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra.

Ranjith said he would challenge the accusations against him.

Industry grappling with fallout

The Hema Committee, led by retired Kerala High Court judge K Hema, was established in 2017 after an actress was raped in a moving car while returning home from work, sparking outrage within the film community.

Though the committee's findings were released in 2019, multiple legal challenges prevented them from being made public until now.

Sexual harassment scandals shock Bollywood  01:16

The Hema report unambiguously states that control of the film industry is wielded by a cabal of male producers, directors, and actors.

"This is how sexual harassment in showbiz is normalized and this is how a predatory atmosphere becomes the way things are," said actor Swara Bhaskar in a statement. "Showbiz is not just patriarchal, it's also feudal in character."

"Successful actors, directors and producers are elevated to the status of demi-gods and anything they do goes," she added.

Actor Minu Kurian, who is also known as Minu Muneer, and whose statement was recorded by the police on Wednesday, told DW that she was confident that justice would be served.

"Many artists have had a bad experience. Those who are not 'cooperating' with powerful industry members have been cast away," Kurian told DW.

She filed complaints against seven individuals including a top Mollywood actor and Edavela Babu, a former AMMA general secretary.

"They did not give me membership of AMMA because I stood my ground," Kurian added.

"I just hope the industry is cleansed after this raft of allegations by various actors," said Kurian. "There must be respect and safe spaces for women otherwise what is the point?"

Edavela Babu denied the allegations against him.

"I have no enemies and will answer to the authorities," Babu told DW. "There is no basis to these allegations."

Making Mollywood safer for women

Although most Mollywood stalwarts have stayed silent over the damning revelations of the Hema report, some have expressed their concern over the overall issue of sexual harassment and abuse.

Leading actor Prithviraj Sukumaran said there were lapses on part of the influential AMMA in addressing women actors' complaints, and called for a serious probe into the issues raised.

"It is important to punish those who have committed sexual abuse. My responsibility does not end with just ensuring that my movie location is safe, it is important that the entire industry is safe for people," Sukumaran told a press conference this week.

#MeToo in Bollywood  12:35

This isn't the first instance of an Indian film industry facing scrutiny. In 2018, Bollywood, the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, was rocked by a sexual abuse scandal.

Sexual harassment accusations by Tanushree Dutta, an actor and former Miss India, against Bollywood legend Nana Patekar turned the spotlight on the issue of male dominance and exploitation of women in the Indian film industry.

A year earlier, following the 2017 rape incident, 18 women — including actors, directors, producers, and technicians — formed the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to create a professional space for women in the male-dominated film industry seeking justice.

A WCC's petition led to the setting up of the Hema Committee by the Kerala government.

"This report urges the government and the industry to address sexual harassment. I hope it empowers women, creates awareness, and establishes safer places for them," said Vidhu Vincent, a filmmaker and former member of the WCC.

"I hope the findings brings significant changes to the film industry and improved accountability."

Beena Paul, a film editor and founding member of the WCC, said that there are issues that need to be addressed urgently to make the industry a safer environment for women.

"This is a decades old industry and changes are needed for a proper level playing field," Paul told DW.

Edited by: Keith Walker

Patriarch Kirill sidesteps bombing of children’s hospital, and praises Putin

byJONATHAN LUXMOORE

12 JULY 2024

CHURCH TIMES

ALAMY
Rescue workers on Tuesday clear rubble at the site of Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, hit by Russian missiles the previous day

PATRIARCH Kirill of Moscow has lauded President Putin as a divine instrument for saving mankind, ignoring global condemnation of Russian missile attacks on a children’s hospital and other civilian targets in Ukraine.

“A restraining force is one capable of preventing the onset of total evil — an evil aimed at subjugating and destroying the human race,” the Patriarch said in Tikhvin on Tuesday.

“Our common task is thus to pray for and support our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. At this difficult time, the Lord has sent a man capable not only of sustaining blows, but also of mobilising our country to resist this total evil.”

The praise was given as efforts continued to recover dozens of Ukrainian civilians killed and injured in Monday’s missile and guided-bomb strikes, which partially wrecked the Okhmatdyt Paediatric Hospital, Ukraine’s largest, as well as a maternity facility near by.

A Vatican communiqué said that the Pope had expressed “deep shock at the escalation of violence”, while his Nuncio in Kyiv, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, said that he had watched a video of the cruise missile striking the hospital’s dialysis unit, and was at a loss how people of conscience could justify attacks on “the weakest of the weakest”.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Revd Professor Jerry Pillay, also denounced Moscow’s “disregard for international humanitarian law”, and said that those targeting civilians violated “the most fundamental principles of law, ethics, morals, and religion”.

President Zelensky requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in response to the continuing attacks, which left at least 42 dead and 140 injured as Western leaders reaffirmed support for Ukraine at a NATO summit in Washington.

In a statement on Monday, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, grouping Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders, as well as Jews and Muslims, condemned Moscow’s “act of extreme cruelty and disregard for human life and God”, and urged governments worldwide to “avoid complicity in Russia’s war crimes” and provide Ukraine “with the necessary means to protect lives”.
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The Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said that the killing of children receiving kidney surgery and other lifesaving treatment was a “crime against humanity” and “sin crying out to heaven for vengeance”.

The Primate of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Metropolitan Epiphany (Dumenko), warned in a post on social media that those “who can provide protection but do not” were complicit in “crimes witnessed by the whole world”.

International agencies, including the World Health Organization, say that hundreds of other hospitals and medical facilities have been attacked since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, placing doctors and patients at high risk.

In a statement this week, Christian Aid said that it had been “working flat out” to help to provide “emergency medical and other essential assistance”, and that it was “heartbreaking” to see such “small gains” ruined by Russia’s “heartless attacks on civilian energy and medical facilities”.

In a weekend message to Masoud Pezeshkian, the newly elected President of Iran, which is supplying Moscow with drones and rockets, Patriarch Kirill said that Russians and Iranians were “united by a desire to preserve their historical spiritual and cultural traditions, and a commitment to enduring moral principles”. He counted on “continued good co-operation” with Islamic leaders in Iran, he said.

Pressure grows on Israel after the death of aid workers

by FRANCIS MARTIN

CHURCH TIMES

04 APRIL 2024

A ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group loaded with canned food destined for Gaza, back in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, on Wednesday, having returned with 240 tons of undelivered aid after the killing of the aid workers

DIPLOMATIC pressure on Israel has increased this week in response to the killing of seven aid workers. In the UK, the Government is facing calls to suspend the sale of armaments to the country.

On Monday, seven aid workers, including three British nationals, were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza which seemed to target a convoy of vehicles belonging to the aid organisation World Central Kitchen (WCK) (News, 5 April).

On Thursday evening, the Archbishop of Canterbury described the incident as “another appalling breach of international humanitarian law in this war”.

Writing on social media, Archbishop Welby said “aid workers can never be a target in war”, and that “far too many humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza”.

At least 196 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.

Archbishop Welby reiterated his calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid, and said that he was praying for the “families and colleagues of those who were killed this week, and all those who have been killed in the last six months”.

Tributes have been paid by the families of the three British men killed in the attack. John Chapman, James Henderson, and James Kirby were former members of the British armed forces, and were working for WCK’s security team.

The others killed were a Palestinian, Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutahas; an Australian, Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom; Damian Soból, from Poland; and a dual US-Canadian citizen, Jacob Flickinger.

The governments of those killed have strongly condemned the attack. On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak told the Israeli President, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he was “appalled” by the killings.

In a government press release, issued after a phone call between the two leaders, Mr Sunak said that “far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza,” and that the situation was “increasingly intolerable”.

He demanded a “thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened” to the WCK convoy.

The cars in which the aid workers were travelling were marked with the organisation’s logo, and it has been reported that they were not travelling in close proximity to each other when a series of strikes were made.

Mr Sunak, the statement said, “reiterated that Israel’s rightful aim of defeating Hamas would not be achieved by allowing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”.

The incident has led to further expressions of concern about Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza. In the United States, President Biden said that he was “outraged”. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, described the incident as an “inevitable result of the way the war was being conducted”.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Revd Professor Jerry Pillay, has condemned the killings. In a statement on Wednesday, he said: “It is tragic that people who give their time in serving others have to lose their own lives. Such attacks, which take the lives of innocent people, are absolutely unacceptable and cannot be justified at any level.”

The fall-out from the attack has led to renewed scrutiny of the UK Government’s approach to arms sales.

On Wednesday, three former Supreme Court justices joined a group of more than 600 legal experts calling for a suspension of arms deals between British firms and Israel, on the basis of “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, they say that “serious action” is needed in order to “avoid UK complicity in grave breaches of international law”. Lord Sumption and Lady Hale are among the retired senior judges to have signed the letter.

A YouGov poll commissioned before the attack on Monday suggests that a majority of voters in Britain want to see a ban on arms sales to Israel, by a margin of 56 per cent to 17 per cent, The Guardian reported.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday morning, Lord Sumption said: “It seems to me that if you have a duty — as we do — to prevent genocide, and there is a plausible case that is what is happening, you should do what you can to obstruct it.”

Last week, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, presented a report in which she wrote: “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide against Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met.” Israeli officials dismissed the report (News, 27 March).

OTHER STORIES
Aid-worker victims in Gaza were targeted, says NGO

SEVEN aid workers have been killed in Gaza in an Israeli air strike, it was reported on Tuesday morning

The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party have called on the Government to block arms exports, while the Labour Party has asked the Government to publish any legal advice it has received on the risk that UK-made equipment is being used in breaches of international law.

In late March, a group of 107 MPs, along with 27 members of the House of Lords, signed a letter calling for the suspension of arms exports (News, 27 March). On Wednesday, the Labour MP, Zarah Sultana, who coordinated the letter suggested that Parliament should be recalled from its Easter recess in order to discuss the issue.

According to a recording of a Conservative Party fund-raising event leaked to The Observer this week, the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns has said that the Foreign Office has “received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law but the Government has not announced it”.

This week, the Corporation of The Church House has been asked to explain how hosting the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Land Warfare Conference coheres with its ethical lettings policy (News, 3 April).

Humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza are taking further measures to keep their workers safe, following the attack on the WCK convoy, and are reiterating calls for a ceasefire.

On Wednesday, the UN announced that its night-time operations in Gaza would be suspended for “at least 48 hours” in response to the killings.

A UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told journalists in New York that the attack on the WCK convoy has had a “psychological and chilling effect on humanitarian workers, both Palestinian and international, who continue to do their utmost to deliver aid to those who need it”.

Several NGOs, including WCK, American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), and the health charity Project Hope, have paused their work in Gaza in response to the attack.

But on Wednesday, Christian Aid’s head of Middle East policy and advocacy, William Bell, said that the charity would “not be stopping or scaling down our life-saving humanitarian work in Gaza”.

Christian Aid operates through partners in the area to provide food and shelter and medical support. “Our partners have strict security measures in place, but, of course, they are not safe, and live in constant fear of being killed,” Mr Bell said.

“They are just trying to survive — as all civilians in Gaza are — what the ICJ believes might be genocide. The only way to stop the killing and ensure a safe and effective humanitarian response is with an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”

Pressure on Mr Netanyahu’s government is also mounting in Israel. On Wednesday, families of the 130 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas stormed the Knesset, demanding a greater focus on extracting the hostages.

Netanyahu response to aid worker deaths ‘insufficient’, says Spain PM



Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani leave the podium after giving a joint press conference in Doha on April 3, 2024. — 

Thursday, 04 Apr 2024 


DOHA, April 4 — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said yesterday the response of his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to an air strike that killed seven aid workers was “insufficient” and “unacceptable”.

“We are waiting for a much more detailed clarification of what the causes have been, bearing in mind that the Israeli government knew about the actions and the itinerary of this NGO on the ground in Gaza,” Sanchez told a Doha news conference at the end of a three-nation tour of the Middle East.

“It seems to me absolutely unacceptable, insufficient,” he added when asked about Netanyahu’s statements about the tragedy.

US-based food aid organisation World Central Kitchen — founded by Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres — said it was pausing its operations in Gaza after the “targeted Israeli strike” on Monday killed Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian staff.

Netanyahu later admitted Israel’s military had “unintentionally” killed them in an air strike.

He said it was a “tragic case” that would be investigated “right to the end” but stopped short of apologising for the deaths.

The Israeli army said Tuesday it would hold an investigation into the air strike and pledged to “share our findings transparently”.

Sanchez has been one of the most critical voices in Europe over the way Israel has conducted its military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks.

He has repeatedly said the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the recognition of two states, Israel and Palestine.

Sanchez said yesterday that Spain would recognise Palestinian statehood “as soon as possible, when the conditions are right and in such a way that this decision will have the most positive impact possible”.

While he did not give a timeline, Spanish media reported Tuesday that he told journalists accompanying him on his Middle East trip that he wants to take this step during the first half of this year.

At the same time, Sanchez called for “the recognition of Israel by its Arab neighbours”, saying “mutual recognition is the key to achieving a lasting solution to this conflict”.

Sanchez began his Middle East tour in Jordan on Monday, before travelling to Saudi Arabia then Qatar.

Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not have official ties with Israel. — 

AFP

 

Israel fires two officers after finding grave errors in strike on aid workers

The convoy carrying the bodies of staff members of the US-based aid group World Central Kitchen, arrives at the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on April 3, 2024, two days after a convoy of the NGO was hit in an Israeli strike as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a Gaza strike were expected to be transported out of the war-torn Palestinian territory on April 3, as Israel faced a chorus of outrage over their deaths. — AFP pic

Friday, 05 Apr 2024 

JERUSALEM, April 5 — The Israeli military dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza this week found serious errors and breaches of procedure, the military said.

The inquiry found Israeli forces mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drone strikes hit the three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen aid group late on Monday night, and that standard procedures had not been followed.

“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures,” the military said in a statement issued today.

The killing of the seven aid workers, who included citizens of Britain, Australia and Poland, a dual US Canadian national and a Palestinian colleague, triggered global outrage this week.

In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, US President Joe Biden threatened a shift in US policy towards Israel unless it reduced harm to civilians in Gaza, which already depended on aid before the war and has seen hunger spread since fighting began six months ago.

Following the publication of the findings, World Central Kitchen demanded an independent commission to investigate the incident. “Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families,” according to a statement published by WCK.

The army had already acknowledged that the seven WCK employees had been killed in an airstrike but the unusually swift investigation underlined the impact the incident has had on world public opinion.

Jose Andres, the chef who founded World Central Kitchen, said this week the seven workers had been targeted “systematically, car by car” as they moved to seek shelter when their vehicles were hit in succession.

The military said it had dismissed a brigade chief of staff with the rank of colonel and a brigade fire support officer with the rank of major, and formally reprimanded senior officers including the general at the head of the Southern Command.

The case was also handed over to the military advocate general to consider a possible criminal investigation, the military said.

One of the ambulances carrying the bodies of staff members of the US-based aid group World Central Kitchen, arrive at the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on April 3, 2024, two days after a convoy of the NGO was hit in an Israeli strike as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. — AFP pic

Bag mistaken for a rifle

The convoy hit was the second of four planned missions to deliver some 200 tons of food brought to Gaza by sea last month under the management of WCK as part of efforts to increase the amount of aid getting into the enclave.

The military said that as the aid convoy the light vehicles were accompanying was travelling down the coastal road in Gaza towards a logistics point late on Monday, armed suspects had climbed on to at least one of the trucks.

The army showed reporters drone footage of a man on top of a lorry firing a rifle, which a spokesperson said had prompted the military to try, unsuccessfully, to contact WCK coordinators.

After the convoy reached a hangar and the trucks were unloaded, the three WCK vehicles had left the location and turned south down the coast road shortly after 11pm (2100 GMT). However, commanders could not see their identifying logos in the dark and did not identify them as belonging to WCK.

Yoav Har-Even, the former major general who led the inquiry, said forces had acted on the mistaken belief that the vehicles had been seized by Hamas fighters.

As the cars left the hangar, one of the men getting into the vehicles had been carrying a bag which the operators watching drone footage took to be a rifle.

“The state of mind at that time was that the humanitarian mission had ended and that they were tracking Hamas vehicles with one suspected gunman, at least one suspected gunman, that they misidentified to be inside one of the three cars,” he told reporters in a briefing.

“They struck that car and then they identified people running out of the car and entering a second car, which is when they decided to strike the second car. Then two people left the second car and entered the third car, which is when they struck the third car.”

Those strikes were in breach of IDF standard operating procedures, he said.

The army pledged to address the fact that it had been unable to see the rooftop logos in the dark as part of a wider package of lessons to draw from the disaster. — Reuters