As an organization, Debaser is committed to an anti-colonial approach, which includes prioritizing self-determination—artistic and otherwise. We know that processes of colonization in the land colonially known as canada go hand-in-hand with colonial violence world-wide, and our commitment will always be to support the self-determination of Palestinian people.
In accordance with this stance, Debaser is signing on to support and endorse the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel or PACBI, and the call for Arms Embargo Now! on Israel, in solidarity with the people of Palestine and their fight for liberation from Israeli occupation and genocide.
More about PACBI
PACBI was launched in Ramallah in 2004 and is part of the wider Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement (BDS). PACBI guidelines for International Cultural Boycott of Israel ask institutions to refuse support from the state of Israel and reject projects that normalise the occupation of Palestine and dispossession of Palestinians.
We wish to be clear that PACBI is “anchored in precepts of international law and universal human rights”. Its target is organisations, and it “rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity (such as citizenship, race, gender, or religion) or opinion.”
You can read more about PACBI at bdsmovement.net/PACBI.
More about Arms Embargo Now!
United Nations human rights experts warn that sending Israel weapons, ammunition or components that it would use in Gaza likely violates international humanitarian law, and the United Nations Human Rights Council has called on all states to immediately “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.” That is not what Canada is currently doing.
Canadian companies export weapons, components, and military technology to Israel, including via the United States. These military exports, whether directly or by way of intermediaries, put Canada at risk of complicity in Israel’s grave human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Canadian civil society organizations across multiple sectors are calling on the Canadian government to immediately suspend all trade in arms and military technology with Israel.
You can read more about Arms Embargo Now! at arms embargo now.ca.
We emphatically invite all arts and music organizations, regardless of size, to support and endorse PACBI and call for Arms Embargo Now!, and engage in actions towards ending the killing of Palestinian people and the destruction of Palestinian culture.
If you or your organization would like to sign on to either initiative, don’t hesitate to reach out to us — at hello@debaser.ca — and we will put you in touch with their coordinators.