Media professionals call for end to killings in Gaza conflict

International Association of Women in Radio & Television
www.iawrt.org


An association of international media professionals has called on both sides in the current conflict in Gaza to immediately abide by a United Nations resolution on peace to spare the lives of women and children caught up in the violence.

The International Association of Women in Radio and Television, IAWRT, says the fighting and indiscriminate killing violates the Geneva Convention, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security.

IAWRT President Olya Booyar says the organisation - which has members in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States - has worked extensively on the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 since it was passed unanimously in 2000.

“As an association of journalists and program makers, IAWRT does not take sides with either Israel or Hamas,” Ms Booyar said. “But we are on the side of the innocent victims of war, whether they are Palestinian mothers grieving for their dead children or Israeli families quaking in terror in shelters as rockets fall.”

She said the UN resolution expresses concern that civilians, particularly women and children, account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict, including as refugees and internally displaced persons, and increasingly are targeted by combatants and armed elements.

On the second week of the war, more then 700 people in Gaza have been killed - a third of them women and children - together with at least four Israeli civilians. Added to those killed or injured are hundreds of thousands of men, women and children trapped by the fighting and desperately short of supplies to sustain life.

She said the UN Security Council, which has the responsibility to uphold these conventions and resolution, must act.

IAWRT calls on the UN Secretary-General, in cooperation with the UN General Assembly, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and the Executive Directors of UNICEF and UNIFEM to enforce these international conventions and resolution by demanding

● immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.
● full opening of the Gaza borders for a massive relief operation of supplies and medical personel, coordinated with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
● stop of Hamas rocket launching into Israel
● investigation and prosecution of those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
● allow press to operate without restrictions

09.01.2009

Olya Boyar
President
International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT)
olyabooyar@hotmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more