University, Political Sciences defends the Palestinian population: the motion

The Council of the Spgi Department - Political Sciences, Law and International Studies in its session yesterday, Tuesday 17 June, unanimously approved a motion in defense of the Palestinian civilian population.

This is the text of the motion: "The images that arrive daily from the Gaza Strip are heartbreaking. The war activities that the Israeli army is conducting against Hamas have a heavy and unbearable impact on the civilian population. Girls and boys are constantly subjected to violence. Both direct violence, through bombings that hit anyone in the trajectory of the missiles, and indirect violence, due to the lack of food and medicine, given the blockade of humanitarian aid. For weeks, civil society, as well as the students of this University, have tried to make their voices heard not in an "anti" key but in defense of a civilian population that, faced with the systematic destruction of hospitals, schools and residential buildings, clearly appears to be the object of extremely violent war activity by the Israeli army. Despite the International Criminal Court having issued two arrest warrants, one for the Prime Minister of Israel, and one for its Minister of Defense, finding substantial grounds to believe that both are responsible for war crimes - having used starvation as a means of conducting hostilities - as well as crimes against humanity, and other inhumane acts prohibited by international humanitarian law, the international community seems completely incapable of stopping what the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory has defined - without mincing words - as an attempt to annihilate the Palestinian population.

The motion continues: "The systematic violation of international humanitarian law and, more generally, the flagrant violation of human rights is intolerable. Just as the ambiguity of national and European institutions is intolerable in the face of the massacre of the civilian population, the attempt to starve it, or even to deport it elsewhere, in contempt of the United Nations resolution that establishes the right to exist of both States. A right, that of the Palestinian people to self-determination which, as clearly stated by the International Court of Justice, requires the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories and the end of colonial settlements, in order to allow the birth of an independent Palestinian State. The national institutions, in total disharmony with what is established in Articles 2 and 11 of the Italian Constitution, do not condemn what is emerging as one of the worst mass violations of human rights in contemporary history. The EU institutions seem to have totally forgotten their duty to be inspired by the values ​​of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights (art. 2 TFEU), just as they seem to ignore that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union begins by establishing that 'human dignity is inviolable and must be respected and protected' (art. 1).

The motion also states: "The Spgi Department is a place where a culture of peace is taught, which opposes anti-Semitism, all forms of discrimination, hatred and violations of human rights and international law. The Spgi Department's courses of study teach subjects such as political science, contemporary history, languages, the history of political doctrines, international relations, philosophy, economics, sociology, domestic and international law, that is, subjects that aim to provide students with the tools and critical eye to read reality and face contemporary challenges while respecting the values ​​that underlie democratic societies. In this educational context, Spgi educates in compliance with the rules of international law and respect for international institutions called upon to ensure that violations of fundamental rights to which every individual, without distinction, is entitled, do not occur. Those same institutions - the United Nations and the International Criminal Court - that the Italian Constitution recognizes as a necessary and essential bulwark to ensure peace and justice among Nations (art. 11 of the Constitution). Fundamental international institutions that the Israeli government has prevented, and prevents, from entering the Gaza Strip. How can we, as a scientific community, educate on the principles enshrined in our Constitution, on international humanitarian law, on respect for human rights and on the value of international conventions - such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights - if we choose silence in the face of what is happening in the Gaza Strip? How can we affirm, coherently, that article 15 of the ECHR absolutely prohibits any derogation from the right to life and any form of inhuman or degrading treatment, if we are not capable of denouncing with objectivity and rigor the evident violations of these fundamental principles? How can we - as an academic community - not oppose the "scholasticicide" and the destruction of university institutions, which represent a real theft of the future for the young people of those territories?".

The conclusion of the motion is decisive: "On the serious violations of international law in the Gaza Strip, on 3 June 2025 the Antonio Papisca Human Rights Centre intervened, recalling the obligation to protect the survivors of Gaza, launching an appeal to national institutions to make every possible effort to immediately start a major rescue operation for the civilian population. Even more recently, the Italian Society of International Law and European Union Law during its last annual conference on 5-6 June 2025 reiterated how, faced with the dramatic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, every single scholar has the duty to take action, to the extent of their competence, to contribute to putting an end to the numerous and intolerable violations of international law. The Spgi Department, expressing all its anguish and concern for the conditions of the Palestinian civilian population, feels the duty to call for respect for international law, strongly condemning a military action that does not discriminate between belligerents and civilians. It is certainly not a question of weighing the horror of the Hamas attack of October 2023 - which must also be considered an unacceptable crime perpetrated against Israeli civilians - with the response that the Israeli government has carried out since then. Rather, it is a question of forcefully reiterating that Hamas - with which the Spgi Department does not in any way stand in solidarity - must be distinguished from the Palestinian civilian population. It is a question of stating without hesitation that there is no reason - absolutely none - that can legitimize a disproportionate use of military force against minors, women, the elderly and other vulnerable subjects who, despite themselves - not taking part in hostilities - live in a territory tormented by acts of war. To admit that, even if only in a defensive sense, any means can justify the end, would be equivalent to betraying those values ​​that are at the basis of democratic societies and international institutions born in the post-war period. The Department strongly calls on the University to take a clear position of condemnation for the very serious violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to increase its efforts and commitment to protect at-risk students and scholars. In addition, echoing SIDI's appeal, it also requests the immediate and total suspension of any agreement, even informal, with Israeli entities and institutions that contribute to the perpetration of the very serious violations. Finally, as a symbolic and supportive gesture, the Department will display a white sheet until such violations cease"