The UIA (International Union of Architects): Professional and Ethical Accords

UIA Charter:

From the International Union of Architects' Charter:

 Principle 2 - Obligations to the Public: 

“Architects have obligations to the public to embrace the spirit and letter of the laws governing their professional affairs, and should thoughtfully consider the social and environmental impact of their professional activities.”

2.1 Standard: “Architects shall respect and help conserve the systems of values and the natural and cultural heritage of the community in which they are creating architecture. They shall strive to improve the environment and the quality of the life and habitat within it in a sustainable manner, being fully mindful of the effect of their work on the widest interests of all those who may reasonably be expected to use or enjoy the product of their work."

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(see also legal aspects and international law relating to architectural practice

http://apjp.org/legal-aspects-of-architectural/

Recommended Guidelines for the UIA Accord On Recommended International Standards

of Professionalism in Architectural Practice Policy on Ethics and Conduct - Adopted JUne 1999

Preamble

Members of the architectural profession are dedicated to the highest standards of professionalism,

integrity, and competence, and to the highest possible quality of their output, and thereby bring to

society special and unique knowledge, skills, and aptitudes essential to the development of the

built environment of their societies and cultures. The following are principles for the conduct of

architects in fulfilling those obligations when undertaking a consulting service. They apply to all

professional activities, wherever they occur. They address responsibilities to the public, which the

profession serves and enriches; to the clients and users of architecture and the building industries,

who help to shape the built environment; and to the art and science of architecture, that continuum

of knowledge and creation which is the heritage and legacy of the profession and of society.

Principle 2

Obligations to the Public

Architects have obligations to the public to embrace the spirit and letter of the laws

governing their professional affairs, and should thoughtfully consider the social and environmental

impact of their professional activities.

2.1 Standard: Architects shall respect and help conserve the systems of values and the

natural and cultural heritage of the community in which they are creating architecture.

They shall strive to improve the environment and the quality of the life and habitat

within it in a sustainable manner, being fully mindful of the effect of their work on the

widest interests of all those who may reasonably be expected to use or enjoy the product

of their work.

2.4 Standard: Architects shall uphold the law in the conduct of their professional activities.

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Principle 4

Obligations to the Profession

Architects have an obligation to uphold the integrity and dignity of the profession, and shall in

every circumstance conduct themselves in a manner that respects the legitimate rights and interests

of others.

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Principle 5

Obligations to Colleagues

Architects should respect their rights and acknowledge the professional aspirations and

contributions of their colleagues and the contribution made to their works by others.

5.1 Standard: Architects shall not discriminate on grounds of race, religion, disability,

marital status, or gender

4.1 Standard: Architects shall pursue their professional activities with honesty and fairness.

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RIBA Disciplinary Code:

Re: Violation of the code of RIBA Professional Conduct.  An RIBA member could be  in violation of the RIBA code by accepting a commission that violates the rights of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and fails to take due regard for its effect on the local community.
 --
http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/Ourstructure/Constitution/CodeOfConduct.aspx

Principle 3: Relationships
Members shall respect the relevant rights and interests of others.
3.1 Members should respect the beliefs and opinions of other people, recognise social
diversity and treat everyone fairly. They should also have a proper concern and
due regard for the effect that their work may have on its users and the local
community.

Guidance Note 7 - Relationships

 
7.1 The Royal Institute expects its member to place their duty to their clients and/or employers ahead of their personal religious beliefs or political convictions (see also Guidance Note 2 on conflicts of interest and Guidance Note 8 on employment). If members are faced with an instruction from a client or employer which presents them with a personal moral dilemma, they should withdraw from the situation if at all possible and explain their reasons for doing so to the client or employer. Where members are the 'conscientious objector's' employer, agreement to the withdrawal should not unreasonably be withheld.

7.10 If members become aware of a breach of the Code of Professional Conduct by another member, they should report it to the Royal Institute, with such supporting documentary evidence as is available, for investigation under the Disciplinary Procedures. Failure to report a breach may only be justified when prevented by law or the courts (such as an agreed settlement which precludes any further action).

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Decisions taken at the UIA Council meeting in Brazil 2009

To:

Mr Abe Hayeem RIBA

Chair, Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine

Dear Mr Hayeem

RE: WHY ISRAELI POLICY ON PALESTINE IS AN ARCHITECTURAL ISSUE FOR ALL PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTES

Thank you for your letter to me as President of UIA, of 22nd June 2009. I understand that you also sent it to all members of the UIA Council.

The Council at its meeting in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil on 31^st July 2009 noted your letter and its attachment. It asked me to let you and your organization know of our existing Policy regarding this sort of matter.

UIA has a policy on this issue that was made as Resolution 13 at the UIA Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey from 8^th to 10^th July 2005. It reads as follows:

“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 Council also asked that the UIA Secretariat send a letter to every UIA Member Section reminding them of this policy, which we have done today.

Yours Sincerely

Louise Cox  AM

UIA President

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Motion to the UIA Council (deferred and still to be considered at future Council meetings) 

APJP MOTION TO THE UIA

SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2008 AT 10:09PM

MOTION TO THE TURIN CONFERENCE – JULY 2008
 
1)  This Assembly resolves to ask all its member sections to require that their members  only undertake work within the rulings of international law and the UIA Charter.
 
2) Pursuant to this, our colleagues in Israel are requested to take particular notice with regard to working on settlement projects on expropriated Palestinian land in the Occupied Territories and annexed East Jerusalem that are deemed illegal under international law, including projects involving  the dispossession of Palestinian and Bedouin citizens within Israel itself.
 
3) The Assembly should decide what appropriate action is to be taken in such cases by the UIA, the international guardian of professional and ethical standards in our profession, noting the precedent for action taken against the South African Institute of Architects in the 1970s.

Signed

Abe Hayeem, RIBA – Chair, Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP)
Haifa Hammami, Architect- Secretary APJP
Ted Cullinan, RA,RIBA
Charles Jencks, Historian, Architect
Sir Richard MacCormack, RIBA
Eyal Weizman, Architect
Hans Haenlein, RIBA
Cezary Bednarski, RIBA
Phil Gusack, Architect
David Berridge, RIBA
John Murray, RIBA
John Van Rooyen, RIBA
Dena Qaddumi, AIA
Jake Brown, RIBA
John Hodge, RIBA
Martin O’Shea, RIBA
Joanna Hellig, SAR/MSA, Architects Without Borders-Sweden
Dick Urban Vestbro, Prof Emeritus, Swedish Association of Architects
Beatriz C. Maturana, Architect,  Architects for Peace, Australia
Jonas Jernberg, Chair, Architecture Sans Frontiere, Sweden 
Hubert Murray, AIA, RIBA
Terry Meade, RIBA
Nicholas Wood, RIBA,FRGS
Faisal Kahn, RIBA
Gail Waldman, RIBA
John Van Rooyen, RIBA
Walter Hain, Architect

ADDENDA TO THE MOTION TO THE UIA COUNCIL 

ISRAEL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW.

1) Israeli law, within which Israeli architects practice, contradicts humanitarian conventions and condones racial discrimination, collective punishment, and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian population. Actions such as house seizures and demolitions, land expropriation, destruction or stealing of olive trees, town and city blockades and terminals are physical manifestations of an illegal occupation that have been meticulously documented by Israeli human rights organizations like B’Tselem, Peace Now, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), and in the publication “Hollow Land” by Eyal Weizman.

2) Since 1947 Israeli kibbutzim, towns and cities have been built over the ruins of over 500 Palestinian villages, houses and heritage that were wiped from the map by a form of architectural and cultural erasure. 93 per cent of Israel’s land is for Jewish citizens only.

3) The continuing annexation and fragmentation of Palestinian land under the guise of security, through the expansion of illegal settlements, outposts, check points, settler-only highways and the construction of the illegal Separation Wall, which sequesters most of the water resources.

4) Israeli architects continue creating ‘facts on the ground’ which exclude and oppress Palestinians, and obliterate the formation of a viable future Palestinian state, in spite of Israel’s international obligations and commitments made in the context of the "peace" process at Madrid, Oslo, the Road Map and Annapolis.

5) Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem continues unabated in contravention of Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention and numerous binding UN Security Council Resolutions, including 242 446, 452, 465. This position has also been affirmed by the International Court of Justice, the world’s highest legal body, and by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the respected Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem.

6) Serious breaches of the UIA Architects’ Charter and in particular:
Principle 2 - Obligations to the Public
 
"Architects have obligations to the public to embrace the spirit and letter of the laws governing their professional affairs, and should thoughtfully consider the social and environmental impact of their professional activities.

2.1 Standard: Architects shall respect and help conserve the systems of values and the natural and cultural heritage of the community in which they are creating architecture. They shall strive to improve the environment and the quality of the life and habitat within it in a sustainable manner, being fully mindful of the effect of their work on the widest interests of all those who may reasonably be expected to use or enjoy the product of their work."

7) As a precedent, in the 1970s until the end of apartheid, South Africa was excluded from the UIA for similar practices. In Israel, planning, architecture and other construction disciplines are being used to promote an apartheid-type system of environmental control, with Palestinians segmented in tiny enclaves.

Despite international condemnation, the above conditions have continued unabated and with the complicit support of architects in Israel and their representative body, the IAUA. The situation requires that the UIA take firm action to express its disapproval of these ongoing practices, which will send a clear message that these practices will not be tolerated in the architectural profession.  

APJP MOTION TO THE UIA

MOTION TO THE TURIN CONFERENCE – JULY 2008
 
1)  This Assembly resolves to ask all its member sections to require that their members  only undertake work within the rulings of international law and the UIA Charter.
 
2) Pursuant to this, our colleagues in Israel are requested to take particular notice with regard to working on settlement projects on expropriated Palestinian land in the Occupied Territories and annexed East Jerusalem that are deemed illegal under international law, including projects involving  the dispossession of Palestinian and Bedouin citizens within Israel itself.
 
3) The Assembly should decide what appropriate action is to be taken in such cases by the UIA, the international guardian of professional and ethical standards in our profession, noting the precedent for action taken against the South African Institute of Architects in the 1970s.

Signed

Abe Hayeem, RIBA – Chair, Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP)
Haifa Hammami, Architect- Secretary APJP
Ted Cullinan, RA,RIBA
Charles Jencks, Historian, Architect
Sir Richard MacCormack, RIBA
Eyal Weizman, Architect
Hans Haenlein, RIBA
Cezary Bednarski, RIBA
Phil Gusack, Architect
David Berridge, RIBA
John Murray, RIBA
John Van Rooyen, RIBA
Dena Qaddumi, AIA
Jake Brown, RIBA
John Hodge, RIBA
Martin O’Shea, RIBA
Joanna Hellig, SAR/MSA, Architects Without Borders-Sweden
Dick Urban Vestbro, Prof Emeritus, Swedish Association of Architects
Beatriz C. Maturana, Architect,  Architects for Peace, Australia
Jonas Jernberg, Chair, Architecture Sans Frontiere, Sweden 
Hubert Murray, AIA, RIBA
Terry Meade, RIBA
Nicholas Wood, RIBA,FRGS
Faisal Kahn, RIBA
Gail Waldman, RIBA
John Van Rooyen, RIBA
Walter Hain, Architect

ADDENDA TO THE MOTION TO THE UIA COUNCIL 

ISRAEL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW.

1) Israeli law, within which Israeli architects practice, contradicts humanitarian conventions and condones racial discrimination, collective punishment, and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian population. Actions such as house seizures and demolitions, land expropriation, destruction or stealing of olive trees, town and city blockades and terminals are physical manifestations of an illegal occupation that have been meticulously documented by Israeli human rights organizations like B’Tselem, Peace Now, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), and in the publication “Hollow Land” by Eyal Weizman.

2) Since 1947 Israeli kibbutzim, towns and cities have been built over the ruins of over 500 Palestinian villages, houses and heritage that were wiped from the map by a form of architectural and cultural erasure. 93 per cent of Israel’s land is for Jewish citizens only.

3) The continuing annexation and fragmentation of Palestinian land under the guise of security, through the expansion of illegal settlements, outposts, check points, settler-only highways and the construction of the illegal Separation Wall, which sequesters most of the water resources.

4) Israeli architects continue creating ‘facts on the ground’ which exclude and oppress Palestinians, and obliterate the formation of a viable future Palestinian state, in spite of Israel’s international obligations and commitments made in the context of the "peace" process at Madrid, Oslo, the Road Map and Annapolis.

5) Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem continues unabated in contravention of Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention and numerous binding UN Security Council Resolutions, including 242 446, 452, 465. This position has also been affirmed by the International Court of Justice, the world’s highest legal body, and by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the respected Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem.

6) Serious breaches of the UIA Architects’ Charter and in particular:
Principle 2 - Obligations to the Public
 
"Architects have obligations to the public to embrace the spirit and letter of the laws governing their professional affairs, and should thoughtfully consider the social and environmental impact of their professional activities.

2.1 Standard: Architects shall respect and help conserve the systems of values and the natural and cultural heritage of the community in which they are creating architecture. They shall strive to improve the environment and the quality of the life and habitat within it in a sustainable manner, being fully mindful of the effect of their work on the widest interests of all those who may reasonably be expected to use or enjoy the product of their work."

7) As a precedent, in the 1970s until the end of apartheid, South Africa was excluded from the UIA for similar practices. In Israel, planning, architecture and other construction disciplines are being used to promote an apartheid-type system of environmental control, with Palestinians segmented in tiny enclaves.

Despite international condemnation, the above conditions have continued unabated and with the complicit support of architects in Israel and their representative body, the IAUA. The situation requires that the UIA take firm action to express its disapproval of these ongoing practices, which will send a clear message that these practices will not be tolerated in the architectural profession.