Pro-palestine protests outside MWC denounce human rights violations and 'genocide'

Members of various organizations gathered this Monday morning outside the Mobile World Congress (MWC) to protest against human rights violations and "genocide" linked to the global tech forum.

Around 60 protesters lined up at the entrance to the fair, turning it into a corridor of signs in Catalan and English targeting Israel and global tech companies.

Claudia Bosch, spokesperson for the Mobile Social Congress – an alternative event to the MWC highlighting human rights violations and other issues in the tech industry – stated that nine companies at the MWC are directly linked to the Israeli military.

She called on the Catalan government, Barcelona City Council, and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce not to be complicit, and urged a ban on Israel at this congress and at any other event hosted in the city.

Bosch also emphasized that the mobilization condemns "the electronics value chains," pointing out that there are sacrificed territories such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.

These regions are exploited for materials like gold and cobalt, commonly used by the tech industry, which, according to Bosch, worsens the countries' situations of armed conflict.

Among the organizers are groups focused on human rights and international solidarity, including the coalition 'Prou Complicitat with Israel' (Enough Complicity with Israel), Catalonia's anti-arms trade committee, the Palestinian Community of Catalonia, and Defend Kurdistan Catalunya, among others.

These organizations have secured the support of nearly a hundred groups across Catalonia in a joint letter calling for an effective ban of Israel's pavilions and the immediate enforcement of human rights and environmental standards for all exhibitors.