UCC staff and students to protest EU inaction on Gaza
Staff and students at UCC will hold a public protest today during a visit of the EU College of Commissioners to highlight “EU inaction” towards the ongoing Gaza crisis.
Taking place from 12-2pm today, Thursday, at UCC’s Donovan’s Road entrance, the demonstration calls on the EU to do more to uphold international law and protect civilians in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Organisers, including UCC Staff Together for Palestine and UCC BDS group, point to what has been described by UN experts and academics as the “scholasticide of Gaza”.
The protest will specifically look to highlight the systematic destruction of Gaza’s education system through attacks on schools, universities, libraries, archives, and education infrastructure.
According to UN peace agency, UNESCO, approximately 97% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged since 2023, leaving hundreds of thousands of children without access to education. At least 15,811 students and 703 education staff have been killed in Gaza since 2023.
The demonstration will also feature the Craftivism Blanket for Palestine, a community artwork created by hundreds of people across Ireland and beyond to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. Each of the 3,000 squares represents 10 Palestinian children that have been killed over the past two years.
A spokesperson for UCC Staff Together for Palestine, Ciarán Dawson, said staff and students “cannot remain silent” as an entire education system and population is being destroyed.
He said: “Universities should be places that uphold human rights, academic freedom, and international law.
“The destruction of schools, universities, and the killing of thousands of students and educational personnel is an attack on Palestine’s future.”
We are gathering peacefully to call on the EU to uphold the principles it says it stands for and to take meaningful action to protect Palestinian lives.”
Today’s protest follows findings published by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which concluded that Israel has committed genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against Palestinians through attacks on civilians, specifically the deliberate targeting of children.
Mr Dawson continued: “A year after an official review by the European External Action Service found significant evidence that Israel breached its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, we stand here today to demand the EU support accountability for violations of international law and terminate the EU-Israel Agreement.”
Organisers said today’s protest is open to all members of the public who wish to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and to call for accountability under international law.