<div dir="ltr">From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Chiara Bodini</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:chiara@phmovement.org">chiara@phmovement.org</a>></span><br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">PHM Europe met in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 24-25. 30 people representing groups and networks in Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, UK endorsed a final declaration, that contains concrete proposals for action in solidarity and support of the Turkish Academics for Peace, as well as a road map towards 7th April 2018, a people's health day to oppose health commercialisation and reclaim health for all! Also, we stated our position on the responsibilities for the dramatic situation in which many migrants and refugees are forced into, and our commitment to act in solidarity.</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.21cm;line-height:100%" align="center">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:14pt"><b>Final
declaration,</b></font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.21cm;line-height:100%" align="center">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:14pt"><b>People's
Health Movement (PHM) Europe meeting</b></font></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.21cm;margin-bottom:0.21cm;line-height:100%" align="center">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:12pt">Istanbul,
24-25 June 2017</font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify"><font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:12pt"><b>Defending
human rights to protect health</b></font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">In the
last PHM Europe meeting held in London in October 2016, we agreed to
<b>stand in solidarity with our friends and colleagues in Turkey
(Turkish Academics for Peace)</b> who are suffering from severe
repression by Erdogan's regime - for the only reason of defending the
basic human right to health. We are meeting in Istanbul this weekend
to say together that <b>health can only be reached through peace.</b>
We will always oppose wars that oppress and kill innocent people.</font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">In
solidarity with the Turkish Academics for Peace, and all the Turkish
people suffering from political oppression for standing for human
rights, <b>we call the groups and individuals of the People's Health
Movement in Europe and throughout the world to take concrete actions</b>
to raise awareness and support the struggle for civil and political
rights in Turkey:</font></font></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt"><b>Share
information, raise awareness and support Turkish Academics for Peace
(AFP) demands</b></font></font><font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">
to return back to their working position and have their passports
and freedom of travel restored:</font></font></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Deliver
solidarity statements and/or organise skype interviews with AFP
during academic conferences and events</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Promote
solidarity statements by universities, trade unions, scientific and
academic societies, etc.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Organise
solidarity missions and events in Turkey</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Support
the demands of Nuriye Gulmen and Semih Ozakca, two dismissed public
servants, who went on hunger strike and are now detained in prison
in severe health conditions, and demand their immediate release</font></font></p>
</li></ul>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt"><b>Offer
concrete help:</b></font></font></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Offer
financial support for dismissed academics</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Offer
distance-learning programs for younger scholars, distance teaching
positions for senior scholars and positions in foreign universities
for those who can travel</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Provide
access to scientific databases for dismissed academics</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Invite
Turkish academics to share their research at conferences in person
or via skype</font></font></p>
</li></ul>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt"><b>Build
alliances in the struggle:</b></font></font></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Promote
the boycott of Turkish universities by foreign universities that
have partnerships with them</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Contact
journalists and arrange for interviews and greater media coverage</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:9pt">Write
to EU commissioner Johannes Hahn, responsible for the Negotiations
on the Expansion of the EU, who will visit Turkey on July 6th 2017</font></font></p>
</li></ul>
</li></ul>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<br>
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify"><font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:12pt"><b>Resisting
health commercialisation in Europe</b></font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We
decided to <b>continue and strengthen the campaign for free public
healthcare accessible to all, centered around the 7th April as the
world health day.</b> 2018 will also mark the 40th anniversary of the
Alma Ata Declaration, and we are ready to make 7th April a people's
health day, to <b>oppose any kind of marketisation of health in our
countries and across Europe. </b></font></font>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">National
governments, as well as European institutions, should be held to
account. Also, strengthening international solidarity will help to
support the struggles in our own countries. We need to expose the
role that Europe plays in supporting healthcare privatisation in
countries within and outside the EU, including through funding health
sector reform programmes and promoting free trade agreements.</font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify"><font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt"><b>The
following decisions will shape our campaign on a people's health day:</b></font></font></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We will
promote<b> exchange of information and networking between local
mobilisations </b>that oppose healthcare privatisation, to
strengthen international solidarity.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We will
<b>mobilise in our countries to support local actions culminating on
7th April 2018</b>, starting with participating in the <a href="http://europe-health-network.net/spip.php?article158&lang=en" target="_blank">online
consultation</a> of the European network against health
commercialisation to identify key mobilising themes.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We will
look into <b>different forms of action</b>, from street
demonstrations to seeking alliances with health workers and
influence health decision makers to oppose the privatisation agenda,
to exposing the predatory role played big corporations (private
healthcare providers and health insurance companies) in our
different countries and in the lobbying at the European level.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We will
<b>seek alliances with trade unions, organisations and networks </b>that
are willing to share our platform for action.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We will
<b>strengthen our links with the mobilisations in countries of the
Mediterranean region.</b></font></font></p>
</li></ul>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<br>
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify"><font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:12pt"><b>Protecting
the health of migrants and refugees</b></font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We
received updates from our Turkish PHM friends on the <b>situation of
migrants and refugees in Turkey,</b> worsened by the ongoing
conflicts in the region as well as the lack of adequate policies from
the European Union. As we have said from the beginning, <b>the
EU-Turkey readmission agreement is a harmful policy</b>, that has
transformed Turkey in an open air prison for refugees, rented by the
EU. <b>Four million people in Turkey are not granted comprehensive
refugee rights. </b>The majority of them are living in deteriorated
conditions with respect to the social determinants of health and have
limited access health care. The <b>situation of undocumented
migrants</b>, whose number is rapidly increasing, is even worse in
terms of access to care, as they are charged very high 'touristic
fees' including for essential health needs. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">The
<b>situation in other countries </b>such as Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy and the UK shows common features in terms of discrimination,
xenophobia, inequalities in the social determinants of health and
access to healthcare.</font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">As PHM
Europe:</font></font></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We
<b>denounce the approach that informs migration policies in our
region</b>, shaped around emergency measures, a capitalist view of
migrants as exploitable cheap labourers, and the false claim that
migration and terrorism are associated, fuelling fear and
xenophobia.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We
<b>oppose detention centres for undocumented migrants</b>,
increasingly managed by private for-profit companies such as G4S,
where people are unlawfully deprived of their rights.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We
demand that the<b> root causes of migration</b> (such as unjust
economic trade policies, climate change, food insecurity,
conflicts...) be addressed.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We
commit to<b> continue to monitor and inform on the situation</b> of
migrants and refugees' rights.</font></font></p>
</li><li>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.1cm;line-height:100%" align="justify">
<font face="Sawasdee"><font style="font-size:10pt">We will
<b>increase the exchange of practices on civil society engagement </b>in
protecting and promoting refugees and migrants' health, through
solidarity actions, advocacy, resistance and protest.</font></font></p>
</li></ul></div></div>
</div><br></div>