Barcelona dockworkers refuse to load or unload ships containing war material

Group statement calls for "immediate ceasefire" to the "various conflicts" and accuses the UN of being complicit

A ship arriving in the Port of Barcelona, July 2023
A ship arriving in the Port of Barcelona, July 2023 / Lluís Sibils
Catalan News

Catalan News | @catalannews | Barcelona

November 7, 2023 11:09 AM

November 7, 2023 03:30 PM

Barcelona dockworkers have released a statement saying they will not allow ships containing war material to set sail or be unloaded onto the city's docks.

They have taken this decision "with the sole purpose of protecting the civilian population, regardless of the territory," their statement reads.

The groups considers it "an obligation" to respect and defend the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which "seem to have been forgotten by the signatory countries of the Magna Carta itself," they say.

The dock workers say these rights are currently "being violated" in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, "among other places on the planet."

They called for an immediate ceasefire and for peaceful solutions to be sought, and at the same time, accused the UN of being complicit in the violent conflicts "through inaction and neglect of its functions."