Call on Belgian Governement to Adopt More Decisive Policy Against Human Rights Violations by Israel

Since 1948, all countries have been obliged under international law to help prevent or stop alleged genocide. This includes Belgium.

With this message displayed on the facades of many Flemish cultural centres, the sector is calling on the Belgian government to adopt a much more decisive policy against Israel's flagrant violation of human rights in Gaza and the West Bank.

This message will also be displayed on various communication channels from NTGent in the coming days and, from next week, on the windows of our theatre. In doing so, NTGent wishes to actively support the call to stop this inhumanity.

NTGent has also decided to suspend all cooperation with Israeli partners unless they clearly distance themselves from the Israeli government's human rights-violating policy.

NTGent will ad an extensive check to its purchasing policy to ensure that there are no links with companies that violate human rights or carry out activities in occupied territories. We apply the same ethical charter here as we do for our financial partners.

In addition, we are mobilising as much as possible for demonstrations, among others the protest organised by the Belgian ngo 11.11.11 on June 15 in Brussels.

We call on the Belgian government:

• to work towards an immediate ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal from the illegally occupied territories,
• to enable massive humanitarian aid for Gaza,
• to safeguard financial support for UNWRA,
• to impose national and European economic sanctions against Israel,
• to suspend the EU Association Agreement with Israel,
• to stop importing products from the occupied territories,
• to bring war criminals to justice before the International Criminal Court,
• to recognise the Palestinian State.

We call on the Flemish Minister of Culture and the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs to support the cultural sector in this position and to defend the sector in the international forum if it is sanctioned (cancelled) because of this position.