Siege and Mental Health: Walls vs Bridges

"Siege and Mental Health: Walls vs. Bridges" will be the theme of the 5th international conference of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) organised with the World Health Organisation. The aim of the conference is to help academics, policy makers, and civil society groups understand the linkages between siege, violence, mental health, and human rights.

The Gaza Strip has witnessed extreme forms of violence and suffering as a result of Israeli occupation and military operations. The siege imposed on Gaza after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip has worsened the situation.

The goals of the conference are to:

• alleviate the mental health impacts of siege;
• raise awareness of the international community about the impacts of siege on mental health;
• influence the political and legal environment within and outside Palestine;
• highlight psychosocial suffering in the Gaza Strip;
• provide the international community with a greater understanding of siege and its impact on the deterioration of the mental health and human rights of Palestinians;
• build local capacities in psychosocial support;
• enhance cooperation amongst international organisations in different regions of the world.

Call for papers

GCMHP is calling for papers on the following themes:

- Siege and mental health.
- Siege, culture, democracy, and civil society.
- impact of adversity on individual, family, and community.
- siege in international law and human rights.
- international experiences of siege.
- siege and public health.
- siege and development.
- impacts of living in adversity situations.
- history of sieges and their impact on mental health and behavior.
- women and children under military siege.
- any relevant theme will reconsidered.

Deadline: 15 July 2008

For more information, visit: http://www.gcmhp.net/