A text calling for an end to the war in Gaza is being projected onto the famous Cloth Hall in Ieper every evening for a week. The words refers to a treaty drawn up after the Second World War and the Holocaust, which obliges countries to prevent genocide.
The text projected on the façade of the building reads: “Since 1948, all countries have been obliged under international law to help prevent or stop a suspected genocide. Including Belgium.” It refers to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948.
A number of bodies are behind the initiative, including the city’s peace and international solidarity department, municipal museums and the cultural centre Het Perron. The words have also been displayed at other cultural institutions in Flanders.
The facts are what they are. Our country signed that treaty
“The message was already visible at many cultural organisations,” says Wouter Sinaeve of In Flanders Fields Museum, which is based in the Cloth Hall, “but now it is also visible at ours. As a City of Peace, Ieper has already taken a clear stance on genocide.”
On Friday, the Westhoek Vredeshoek platform is organising an event in which hundreds of children will drum for peace. Sinaeve: “But we adults can also make a statement. The facts are what they are. Our country signed that treaty. And now it is our damn duty to do something about that genocide.”
Mayor Katrien Desomer supports the campaign. “Sunday is International Peace Day, and we believe it is important to draw attention to the treaty once again,” she said.
“We know that many steps have been taken in the right direction at the Flemish and federal levels, but we still want to call for an end to armed conflicts as soon as possible, both in Gaza and elsewhere in the world.”
The International Day of Peace was established by UN resolution in 1981 and is observed around the world each year on 21 September.