British Architects Vote To Cut Ties With Israel Group Over Settlement Projects

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By JTA March 24, 2014

The Royal Institute of British Architects approved a motion calling on the international Union of Architects to suspend its Israeli counterpart from membership until it refuses to accept projects in the West Bank.

The vote by the Royal Institute of British Architects Council on March 19 passed 23 to 16 with 10 abstentions, the institute reported on its website.

The motion calls on the Israeli Association of United Architects to adhere to the international Union of Architects, or UIA, resolution 13 of 2005 and 2009, which states that: “The UIA Council condemns development projects and the construction of buildings on land that has been ethnically purified or illegally appropriated, and projects based on regulations that are ethnically or culturally discriminatory, and similarly it condemns all action contravening the fourth Geneva Convention.”

The full Royal Institute of British Architects , or RIBA, motion, proposed by RIBA Immediate Past President Angela Brady, states: Since the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) has paid no regard to the UIA resolution 13 of 2005 and 2009, the RIBA calls on the UIA, as the international guardian of professional and ethical standards in our profession, to suspend the membership of the Israeli Association of United Architects, until it acts to resist these illegal projects, and observes international law, and the UIA Accords and Resolution 13.”

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