International court

• “In short, 2023 was a challenging, yet transformative, year for UpHealth, as we continued to take steps to stabilize the business,” said Martin Beck, Chief Executive Officer.
• Growth in proforma revenues in the fourth quarter of 2023 was driven by top line growth at TTC Healthcare and Cloudbreak and by certain non-recurring revenues associated with the cessation of operations at Thrasys;
  Proforma fourth quarter 2023 gross margins were 62%, compared to 45% for the fourth quarter of 2022.
• Proforma margin improvement in the fourth quarter was largely driven by an improved payor mix at TTC Healthcare;
  Proforma fourth quarter 2023 Adjusted EBITDA was $11.1 million, compared with $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• TTC Healthcare’s performance in 2023, and in particular the fourth quarter 2023, was driven by strong volumes and a significantly improved payor mix.

• The UK government has received internal legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law in its current war on Gaza.
• But what does international law actually say on this issue, and what are the UK’s (and other nations’) legal obligations in relation to the ongoing assault on Gaza?
• In recent months, a number of countries have announced they are suspending arms exports to Israel.
• In the UK, the high court dismissed an attempt to challenge the government’s continued licensing of arms exports to Israel.

Arms trade treaty

• The most obvious, and the one emphasised in the British MPs’ letter, is found in the UN arms trade treaty, to which the UK is a party.
• In 2019, the UK court of appeal suspended arms exports to Saudi Arabia based on the government’s failure to assess whether past violations of international law had likely been committed in Yemen.
• So, signatories to the arms trade treaty continuing to supply weapons to Israel likely do so in breach of article 7.

Geneva conventions

• But it also includes article 1 of the 1949 Geneva conventions, which requires states to “ensure respect” for international humanitarian law.
• On March 1, Nicaragua instituted proceedings before the ICJ against Germany (the second-biggest arms exporter to Israel), in part alleging that it is violating article 1 of the Geneva conventions due to its support for Israel.
• In this way, all countries are legally obliged to ensure that others comply with international humanitarian law.

Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• This, he has argued, is needed because “our democracy itself is a target” of antisemitic and Islamophobic extremists.
• However, the reality is that no measures do more damage to democracy than policy proposals like the one Sunak is promoting.
• The UK already has a definition for extremism, which is used in efforts to tackle terrorism.
• A key reason why this definition is not contained in legislation is because it is so vague and unclear.

Vague to vaguer

• What does it mean to undermine or overturn the rights or freedoms of others?
• Would arguing for the UK to leave the European convention on human rights count meet the bar?
• What about calling for restrictions on the right to free speech or the right to protest?

Existing laws are enough

• But the UK already has numerous laws in place to tackle what it considers to be unacceptable behaviour at protests.
• The Terrorism Act (which is also incredibly broad) can be used to prosecute people who damage property or create a serious risk to public safety during protests.
• Counter-terrorism laws can also capture forms of expression at public demonstrations or online.
• This can now be applied by he police to criminalise protests that are considered to be making too much noise.

The right to protest

• People may self-censor out of fear of being identified as extremist, not least when their employer has a duty under Prevent.
• There is a deep danger of conflating protest with extremism and terrorism, undermining the legitimacy of these protests.
• To stretch the concept of extremism to cover these views is what is actually undermining democracy and the rights and freedoms of others.

Alan Greene does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• Toronto, Peterborough, Ontario, Feb. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two major arms manufacturers are being disrupted this morning, kicking off rolling actions to interrupt the flow of weapons to Israel.
• Canada has enacted arms embargos before, and it must enact one now, immediately, to stop this genocidal violence."
• "We are seeing different actions take place at arms companies across Canada demanding an immediate arms embargo against Israel.
• On Friday, UN experts named Canada's military exports as a likely violation of international law in their urgent call for an immediate arms embargo against Israel.