- Conference
- 2024 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 19 July 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the continued occupation and recent bombardment of Palestine by the Israeli government which has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and left over a million displaced from their homes. Conference welcomes UNISON’s continued support for a viable, independent, democratic and contiguous Palestinian state, alongside Israel, where both states live side by side within secure and recognised borders.
Conference notes the previous motions to LGBT+ conference in 2022, “Justice for Palestine”, in 2019, “Palestine”, and in 2014, “No to pinkwashing, no to Israeli apartheid” and reaffirms our commitment to peace in the region and justice for the Palestinian people.
As the Israeli occupation continues, it is crucial that as LGBT+ members we continue to show our unwavering support and solidarity with Palestinian people. We must continue to criticise ‘pinkwashing’, the Israeli government’s propaganda strategy which seeks to promote Israel as an LGBT+-friendly country, in order to repair its reputation on the global stage. This also distracts from its inhumane treatment of Palestinians – which even before the war in Gaza was described as ‘apartheid’ by numerous agencies including Amnesty International and UN Special rapporteurs.
The strategy uses racist stereotypes to purport Palestinian people as backward, obscuring the fact that Israel’s regime of occupation does not spare LGBT+ Palestinians, who are specifically targeted by Israeli government agencies. Conference also notes that members of the current governing coalition in Israel have condemned LGBT+ activists and called for Pride events in Israel to be banned. This further highlights the hypocrisy of the strategy, and how it must continue to be criticised.
Conference proudly supports the presence of UNISON branches and regional LGBT+ self organised groups at local Pride events across the country. We particularly welcome the growing involvement of young members at these events. Branches and our members should continue to be encouraged to attend and support community led Pride events, remembering that Pride is inherently a protest.
UNISON should also continue its strong defence of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, including where this is relevant to participation in Pride events. UNISON should use our influence where possible to make clear that organisations with ties to the Israeli occupation are not welcome at Pride events in which we participate.
Conference calls on the national LGBT+ committee to:
1)Work with the UNISON National Executive Council to continue to challenge pinkwashing, including creating and distributing resources and factsheets where appropriate.
2)Promote its guidance on Ethical Procurement and Pride in Procurement.
3)Work with regional LGBT+ self organised groups and local branches to support local, community-led Prides with ethical procurement and participation policies.
4)Promote UNISON’s affiliation to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign to LGBT+ regional and branch groups, and encourage LGBT+ members to attend local PSC demonstrations as part of UNISON blocs showing solidarity with Palestine.