statements

2025

Solidarity statement with Palestine and other oppressed populations

The European Society of Health and Medical Sociology (ESHMS) was founded to connect medical sociological research with policy. This means that the sociological study of health and medicine must consider the political and socio-economic conditions which shape people’s lives. Furthermore, our community of European health social scientists is not solely focused on Europe. Throughout our history, we have developed collaborations with other international associations and welcomed members from outside Europe. We believe that health is increasingly a global issue involving interconnections between different dimensions and social contexts.

We would like to express our deep concern regarding the well-documented public health emergency in Gaza, caused by severe food insecurity and a rise in malnutrition-related deaths (De Vogli et al., 2025). For example, life expectancy at birth declined by around 35 years in 2024 (Guillot et al., 2025). Palestinian children have been particularly affected, and the health system has been nearly dismantled. Furthermore, actions like the blockage of humanitarian aids and the induced famine are increasingly being recognised as genocide by numerous experts independently in Gaza. Several medical and social science associations have issued statements of solidarity. The violence and atrocities in Gaza are ongoing, accompanied by forced displacement in the West Bank, military operations in Lebanon and Syria, and bombings in Iran and Yemen.

Aligned with other calls (Blanchet et al., 2025; De Vogli et al., 2025), we publicly acknowledge the risk of genocide in Gaza. We believe that silence is no longer an option, as Europe has remained a bystander to one of the most visible famine and public health emergencies of our time for too long.

In line with the ESHMS’s values and principles, we stand with the European Sociological Association, the International Sociological Association, the UN and other international organisations – including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Federation for Human Rights and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) – in condemning the human rights violations taking place in Gaza and in the West Bank.

The ESHMS therefore calls for:

1. An end to the human rights violations in Gaza, including the bombing of civilians, the destruction of schools, homes and hospitals, and the escalating violence in the West Bank; and a complete end to Israel’s military occupation of these territories.
2. The reinstatement of funding and access for UN agencies, especially United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP), and opening humanitarian corridors for food, fuel and medicine, coordinated by these agencies.
3. The release of all individuals being held hostage by armed groups.
4. Support for independent reporting and scientific assessments, including documentation of excess mortality, famine-related deaths and the destruction of health systems, to inform the humanitarian response and reconstruction efforts.
5. Protection of academic freedom for all, especially staff and students who research, teach and speak out against the violent practices of the Israeli government, both within Israel and globally.

17 October 2025

Cited references