17/09/2024
org.au
How disgraceful of these RANZCP MEMBERS. (Listed below as signatories)
One would think as trained medicos, they would have the ability to read evidence, assess the source of the information and how it was collected, then decide whether or not to refer to it based on its validity, authenticity, accuracy and objectivity.
Isn’t that what we were all taught as undergraduates.
Seeing references to UN reports and UN organisation reports, other NGOs known for their anti-semitism as well as figures and facts reproduced by ‘Al Jazeera’…… the home of the HAMAS Billionaire leadership certainly brings the motives of this ‘open letter’ and the signatories to the RANZCP into question.
Just read the names of the signatories.
Finally the short 2 sentence acknowledgment of the events of 7/10/23 … no mention of the r**e of young women, mothers in front of their partners and children, the removal of a foetus from its living mother and then its killing, babies killed in microwave ovens, mothers tied to their children with steel wire and burnt alive……..the psychological torture of the Israeli public with video releases of those still held captive etc. …….yet the undersigned could not even include in their list of demands, the immediate release of hostages after over 11 months of captivity ….. that just sums it up.
In addition, calling Israel an Apartheid State is an insult to every Black South African who suffered during the Aparteid era. (Given the population of Gaza has grown almost 4 fold in the last 20 years proves that Israel does in fact have one weakness…. They are no good at Apartheid.)
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Open letter to RANZCP regarding the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
13 September 2024
Dear Dr Elizabeth Moore,
We are writing to you to express our deep concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and to request that the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) adopts a public stance regarding the human rights violations occurring there.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas carried out attacks in which over 1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals were killed and 252 taken hostage.[1] In the ensuing 11 months, Israel has engaged in systematic attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Gaza.
Israel has:
committed numerous massacres, including by shooting civilians waiting for humanitarian aid,[2] and bombing schools,[3] marketplaces,[4] apartment buildings,[5] and tent encampments[6];
killed over 16,000 children,[7] including with sniper shots to the head and chest[8];
created famine and widespread malnutrition by severely restricting entry of food and water[9];
destroyed the healthcare system by attacking hospitals[10,11] and ambulances,[12] killing 752 healthcare workers, detaining 128,[13] and subjecting detained healthcare workers to torture[14];
restricted the entry of medical supplies, leading to Caesarean sections, amputations, and other major surgeries being performed without anaesthesia, analgesia, antibiotics, and proper sterilisation[15-18];
destroyed the water and waste infrastructure, leading to the massive spread of communicable diseases like hepatitis[19] and the re-emergence of poliovirus.[20]
While the official death toll is currently 40,223 (with 92,981 injured and over 10,000 people missing under rubble),[13] a Lancet article published in July estimated there could be 186,000 deaths when including indirect deaths from disease.[21] Concurrently, Israel has been escalating military operations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where at least 622 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023.[22] Over this period, there have been 538 attacks on healthcare, with 23 healthcare workers killed, 100 injured and 86 detained.[13]
The question of genocide in Gaza is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).[23] The provisional measures issued in January 2024 indicated that the ICJ considered genocide to be a plausible risk.[24]
On 19 July 2024, the ICJ declared that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories violates international law, and that the physical segregation, restriction of movement, punitive home demolitions, and other discriminatory policies imposed upon the Palestinian people, constitute racial discrimination and apartheid.[25]
As per the ICJ, Israel has a legal obligation to prevent the commission of genocide[24] and end its occupation of the Palestinian Territories.[25] All other United Nations member states, including Australia and New Zealand, are obligated to ensure Israel complies with these ICJ directives and with international law.[25,26]
We understand that medical bodies such as RANZCP are guided by the principle of impartiality. RANZCP must also be guided by its own advocacy statement urging for nations that perpetrate human rights violations to be held to account.[27] In the face of widespread human rights violations, it must not be considered partial to advocate for their end. RANZCP’s endorsement of a statement condemning Russia’s attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine sets a precedent for this.[28]
Many medical bodies have already released statements regarding this conflict. This includes the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine,[29] the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine,[30] the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,[31] the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners,[32] and the Australian Medical Association.[33] RANZCP has a uniquely important role in joining these organisations when considering the devastating psychological trauma in those experiencing, and those bearing witness to, the daily atrocities being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
We, the undersigned, urge the College to take a public stance, and:
Demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire;
Condemn attacks on civilians, healthcare workers, and infrastructure;
Advocate for the safe delivery of nutrition, clean water, sanitation, shelter and medical supplies;
Advocate for measures to prevent the risk of genocide; and
Advocate for an end to the system of apartheid.
Note: This letter will remain open for signatures until 29 September 2024, and then will be submitted to RANZCP for their response.
Note: You may not immediately see your signature in the list after signing. The list of signatories will be updated several times a day.
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Signatories from the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists:
Dr Tareq Abuelroos, FRANZCP, Australia
Dr Farideh Absalan, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Emma Adams, FRANZCP, Canberra
Dr Adesina Adesanya, FRANZCP, Canberra & Wagga Wagga
Dr Farah Aga, RANZCP trainee, Townsville QLD
Dr Ibrahim Al-Absawi, RANZCP trainee, WA
Dr Joe Alemkunnapuzha Varghese, FRANZCP, Gold Coast
Dr Shaista Ambreen, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Huma Amer, FRANZCP, Wellington
Dr Bertha Arevalo Bazalar, FRANZCP, Melbourne
Dr Balbir Arora, FRANZCP, WA
Dr Korede Stephen Jude Ayeni, FMCPsych, FRANZCP, WA
Dr Azadeh Azadi, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Alaa Baky, RANZCP trainee, Melbourne
Dr Nealie Barker, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Colleen Barker, FRANZCP, Adelaide
A/Prof Caryl Barnes, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Verere Bateren, FRANZCP, Sydney
Prof Malcolm Battersby, FRANZCP, Adelaide
Dr Stephanie Bradstock, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Lucy Bransom, FRANZCP, Brisbane
Dr Marella Bedggood, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Rātahi Bell, FRANZCP, Waikato
Dr Ilyas Bharuchi, FRANZCP, Melbourne
A/Prof Ravi Bhat, FRANZCP, AM (VIC)
Prof Marie Bismark, FAFPHM, FRANZCP, Kapiti, New Zealand
Dr Alison Blazey, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Sian Bowden, RANZCP trainee, Cairns
Dr Robyn Bradley, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Geoffrey Bradshaw, FRANZCP, Tasmania
Dr Luisa Butler, FRANZCP, QLD
Dr Kai Yang Chen, RANZCP, Queensland
Dr Donna Maree Meteria Clarke, FRANZCP, Bay of Plenty & Waikato, Aotearoa
Dr Alice Coleman, RANZCP trainee, Hawkes Bay
Dr Amy Corderoy, RANZCP trainee, Sydney
Dr Sarah Cornes, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Katherine Court, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Partha Das, FRANZCP
Dr Madeline Delves, FRANZCP, Orange
Dr Sarah Dorrington, FRANZCP, NT
Dr Pravin Dullur, FRANZCP
Dr Hinemoa Elder, FRANZCP, Tāmaki Makaurau
Dr Ghassan Eltatary, RANZCP trainee
Dr Tatjana Ewais, FRANZCP, QLD
Dr Bushra Farooq, RANZCP trainee, Sydney
Dr Joanne Ferguson, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Ranginui Flavell, RANZCP trainee, Rotorua NZ
Dr Lauren Fowler, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Michelle Fryer, FRANZCP, Qld
Dr Chris Franklin, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Lisa Gerlach, FRANZCP, NSW
Prof Neeraj Gill, FRANZCP, Gold Coast
Dr Pritpal Gill, Auckland, NZ
Dr Vijayalakshmi Gopalakrishnan, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Shan Gunaratna, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Nadir Hafiz, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Yong Jie Ho, RANZCP trainee, Alice Springs
Dr Tessa Hobbs, RANZCP trainee, Christchurch
Dr Furhan Iqbal, FRANZCP, Queensland
Dr Nevin Ismail, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Saba Javed, FRANZCP, ACT
Dr Matthew Jenkins, FRANZCP, Waikato
Prof Jon Jureidini, FRANZCP, University of Adelaide
Dr Gregory Keane, FRANZCP
Dr Michael Keem, FRANZCP, Victoria
Dr Sean Kempster, RANZCP trainee, Cairns
Dr Abdal Khan, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Imran Khan, RANZCP trainee, Goldcoast Hospital
Dr Diana Maree Kopua, FRANZCP
Dr Nejra Kostic-Garner, RANZCP Trainee, Western Australia
Dr Karishma Kulkarni, FRANZCP, Melbourne, Australia
Dr Julia Lappin, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Nicola Lauterwein FRANZCP, WA
Dr Clianna Lavelle, FRANZCP, New Zealand
Dr Nina Elizabeth Lees, FRANZCP
Dr Kiran Lele, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Jessica Lightburn, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Dina Mahmood, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Muntaser Mahmud, RANZCP trainee, Sydney
Dr Sidra Majeed, RANZCP trainee, ACT
Dr Negibe Mankir, FRANZCP
Dr Michael Marginson, RANZCP trainee, Sydney NSW
Dr Ian McCracken, FRANZCP, Newcastle
Dr Mangatjay McGregor, RANZCP trainee, Melbourne
Dr James Mclachlan, FRANZCP, South Australia
Dr Niall McLaren, FRANZCP, Brisbasne
Dr Yalan Mo, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Arif Mohamed, FRANZCP, Maldives
Dr Indiana Mortimore, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Vikas Moudgil, FRANZCP, Brisbane
Dr Xavier Mulenga, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Selamawit Mulholland, FRANZCP, Australia
Dr Ahmed Munib FRANZCP, Western Australia
Dr Trushna Murgahayah, RANZCP trainee, South Australia
Dr Alfiya Mutlu FRANZCP, Canberra
Dr Sandeep Naik, FRANZCP, Gold Coast
Dr Rose Neild, FRANCZP, Adelaide
Dr Helen Nelson, FRANZCP, New Zealand
Dr Helena Niu, RANZCP trainee, Cairns
Dr Kiri Noronha, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Andrew B. Ntsowe, FRANZCP, Western Australia
Dr George Onyema, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Stefanie Orlik, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Peter Parry, FRANZCP, Qld
Dr Nasreen Pathan, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Sana Pathan, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Phillip Pattie, RANZCP trainee, Melbourne
Dr Dhara Perera, FRANZCP, Victoria
Dr Mukesh Prabhuswamy, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Robert Purssey, FRANZCP, Brisbane QLD
A/Prof Carolyn Quadrio, FRANZCP, Sydney, NSW
Dr Rasha Rahman, FRANZCP, Victoria
Dr Jeannie Rahme, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Sangita Raj, RANZCP trainee, Melbourne
Dr Amirsalar Rashidianfar, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Kumudu Rathnayaka, FRANZCP
Dr Paboda Ratnayake Mudiyanselage, FRANZCP, QLD
Dr Mohammad Shuaib, RANZCP Affiliate
Dr Zachary Richards, RANZCP Trainee, Adelaide
Dr Sabrina Ritom Davidson, RANZCP trainee, Townsville
Dr Monica Roberts, RANZCP trainee, Melbourne
Dr Sarah E. Romans, FRANZCP, Wellington, New Zealand
Dr Daud Saeed, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Irene Saenz Manso, RANZCP trainee, Perth
Dr Wajiha Saif, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
A/Prof Savio Sardinha, FRANZCP, Gold Coast
Dr Khadijah Shah Idil, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Monisa Sharma, RANZCP trainee, NZ
Dr Shweta Sharma, FRANZCP, Gold Coast
Dr Ram Singh, FRANZCP
Dr Aspi Skelton-Kyd, RANZCP trainee, New Zealand
Dr Nirenjen St George, FRANZCP
Dr Adam Stafford, RANZCP Trainee, Brisbane
Dr Shiam Thanaskanda, RANZCP trainee, Melbourne
Dr Lucy Thurman-Bornefeldt, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Celia Tier, FRANZCP, NSW
Dr Mischa Tosswill, RANZCP trainee, Auckland
Dr Hang Tran, FRANZCP
Dr Wade Wallace, RANZCP trainee, QLD
Dr Joanna Wang, FRANZCP, Auckland, NZ
Dr Linda Warren, RANZCP trainee, Adelaide
Dr Ruwantha Weerakkody, FRANZCP
Dr Kurt Wendelborn, FRANZCP, NZ
Dr Karolina Wicik, RANZCP trainee, Adelaide
Dr Fiona Wilkes, RANZCP trainee, Canberra
Dr Adnan Younus, FRANZCP, Sydney
Dr Ahmed Zaafan, RANZCP trainee, Gold Coast
Dr Hamza Zaheer, RANZCP trainee, Sydney
-------------------------------------------
References
[1] Human Rights Council. Detailed findings on attacks carried out on and after 7 October 2023 in Israel,
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session56/a-hrc-56-crp-3.pdf (10 June 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[2] UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. UN experts condemn ‘flour
massacre’, urge Israel to end campaign of starvation in Gaza,
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/un-experts-condemn-flour-massacre-urge-israel-end-campaign-starvation-gaza (5 March 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[3] Johnson D. Schools ‘bombed-out’ in latest Gaza escalation, says UNRWA chief, https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1151921 (10 July 2024, accessed 8 September 2024).
[4] UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. Thematic Report: Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks during the conflict in Gaza (October – December 2023),https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/opt/20240619-ohchr-thematic-report-indiscrim-disprop-attacks-gaza-oct-dec2023.pdf (19 June 2024, accessed 8 September 2024).
[5] Amnesty International. Israel/OPT: New evidence of unlawful Israeli attacks in Gaza causing mass civilian casualties amid real risk of genocide, https://amnesty.org.nz/israeli-attacks-causing-mass-civilian-casualties (12 February 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[6] Al-Jazeera. What’s Mawasi, the Israel-designated Gaza ‘safe zone’ it bombed overnight?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/10/what-was-the-humanitarian-zone-bombed-overnight-by-israel (10 September 2024, accessed 12 September 2024).
[7] Al-Jazeera. Israel kills more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, 16,456 of them children, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/15/israel-kills-more-than-40000-palestinians-in-gaza-16456-of-them-children (15 August 2024, accessed 9 September 2024).
[8] McGreal C. ‘Not a normal war’: doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/gaza-palestinian-children-killed-idf-israel-war (2 April 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[9] UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. UN experts declare famine has
spread throughout Gaza strip, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/un-experts-declare-famine-has-spread-throughout-gaza-strip (9 July 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[10] UN News. No medicine, no hope: Doctors describe life under Israeli attack in Gaza,
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1147037 (28 February 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[11] UN News. Gaza: ‘Systematic dismantling of healthcare must end’ says WHO, https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148316 (6 April 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[12] UN News. Guterres ‘horrified’ by strike on ambulance convoy in Gaza, https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143217 (4 November 2023, accessed 8 September 2024).
[13] World Health Organisation. OPT Emergency Situation Update, Issue 41, 7 Oct 2023 - 20 Aug 2024, https://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/Sitrep_-_issue_41b.pdf?ua=1 (20 August 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[14] Human Rights Watch. Israel: Palestinian Healthcare Workers Tortured, https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/26/israel-palestinian-healthcare-workers-tortured (26 August 2024, accessed 8 September 2024).
[15] Médecins Sans Frontières. MSF-supported health facilities across Gaza face critical shortage of medical supplies, https://www.msf.org/msf-health-facilities-across-gaza-face-critical-shortage-medical-supplies (21 June 2024, accessed 8 September 2024).
[16] UN Sustainable Development Group. Gaza hospitals hanging on by a thread,
https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/gaza-hospitals-hanging-thread (30 October 2023, accessed 9 September 2024).
[17] UNICEF. Facing life in the Gaza Strip with a new disability, https://www.unicef.org/sop/stories/facing-life-gaza-strip-new-disability (21 December 2023, accessed 9 September 2024).
[18] Chamas Z. Australian surgeon returns home from Gaza describing 'unfathomable' conditions, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-17/surgeon-returns-from-gaza-describes-hospitals-hanging-by-thread/104098784 (17 July 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[19] UN News. Gaza: ‘Frightening increase’ in Hepatitis A cases, https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152791 (2 August 2024, accessed 6 September 2024).
[20] UNICEF Australia. Children face a new battle as polio resurfaces in Gaza, https://www.unicef.org.au/stories/polio-in-gaza (4 September 2024, accessed 6 September 2024).
[21] Khatib R, McKee M, Yusuf S. Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential. The Lancet 2024; 10449: 237-238. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01169-3.
[22] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Humanitarian Situation Update #210 | West Bank, https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-210-west-bank (28 August 2024, accessed 7 September 2024).
[23] International Court of Justice. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192 (2023, accessed 6 September 2024).
[24] International Court of Justice. Order: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf (26 January 2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
[25] International Court of Justice. Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024,https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/186/186-20240719-sum-01-00-en.pdf (19 July 2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
[26] Pietropaoli I. Obligations of Third States and Corporations to Prevent and Punish Genocide in Gaza,https://www.somo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Obligations-of-Third-States-and-Corporations-to-Prevent-and-Punish-Genocide-in-Gaza-3.pdf (5 June 2024, accessed 9 September 2024).
[27] RANZCP. RANZCP expresses concern for global human rights violations, https://www.ranzcp.org/news-analysis/ranzcp-expresses-concern-for-global-human-rights-violations (8 December 2022, accessed 8 September 2024).
[28] RANZCP post, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/royal-australian-and-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists_statement-on-ukraine-activity-6924603519001923584-HhSG (2022, accessed 8 September 2024).
[29] Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. Emergency doctors and nurses call for
ceasefire, https://acem.org.au/News/June-2024/Emergency-doctors-and-nurses-call-for-ceasefire (June 2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
[30] New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine. NZCPHM Statement on conflict in Gaza, https://nzcphm.org.nz/Conflict-in-Gaza/11265/ (2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
[31] Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Statement on the situation in Gaza and Israel, https://ranzcog.edu.au/news/statement-gaza-israel/ (12 July 2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
[32] Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Statement Concerning the Conflict
in Israel and Gaza, https://www.racgp.org.au/corporate-news/statement-on-the-conflict-in-israel-and-gaza (19 June 2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
[33] Australian Medical Association. AMA statement on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, https://www.ama.com.au/articles/ama-statement-conflict-israel-and-gaza (24 April 2024, accessed 5 September 2024).
The Australian Medical Association supports the World Medical Association (WMA) Council Resolution on the Protection of Healthcare in Israel and Gaza. The resolution calls for a range of actions including a bilateral, negotiated and sustainable ceasefire to address the ongoing health and humanitaria...
