Joint Statement: UN Commission of Inquiry Finding of genocide in Gaza and UK position on genocide

Source: CAAT

The UN Commission of Inquiry's finding today doesn't just confirm that David Lammy's letter to Parliament last week was 'wrong' regarding Israel's genocide. The true extent of UK Government complicity is far worse.

In the letter, addressed to the Chair of the International Development Committee, the former Foreign Secretary told Parliament: "The Government has not concluded that Israel is acting with [genocidal] intent".

This careful phrasing amounts to a legal sleight of hand, designed to hide the hundreds of incidents of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) that the Foreign Office is not taking into account when it makes a statement about what the Government has 'not concluded'.

As revealed during the recent court case brought by Palestinian human rights organisation, Al-Haq, against the UK government, as of September 2024 the FCDO had assessed 413 incidents of alleged violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) by Israel in Gaza. The FCDO reached the conclusion that there was "insufficient information to decide either way" in 411 of 413 incidents considered. In almost every single incident, that is 99.5% of all cases (paragraph 43. c), it could not decide if they were even a "possible" violation.

Only one incident - a strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy killing seven humanitarian aid workers, including three British nationals - was identified as a potential violation. This narrow, incident-by-incident approach dangerously downplays the scale of civilian suffering and appears to deem Palestinian lives as less deserving of the protection of international law. It enables ongoing UK complicity through arms sales, including the F-35 jet programme, extensive military cooperation, and political backing for Israel's relentless assault.

As long ago as June 2024 - over a year ago - the government's Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) came to the devastating finding that "it is uncontentious that conduct which could, in principle, satisfy the physical component of genocide continues to take place in Gaza" (para 28. of Al-Haq judgment.)

The Government claims it has not been able to establish 'genocidal intent', as required by ICJ jurisprudence to reach the threshold of "serious risk of genocide". To make a judgement on intent, two factors were emphasised to the High Court by the UK Government (para 29 of Al-Haq judgment); 'statements made' by Israeli officials and Israel's 'pattern of conduct'. The 'troubling comments' made by Israeli politicians and senior officials (claimant's skeleton para 265) were simply dismissed.

In relation to Israel's conduct of hostilities - its military conduct in Gaza - the UK government has claimed "areas of most acute concern with respect to compliance with IHL do not relate to Israel making civilians the object of attack." It claims to have seen no evidence that Israel is deliberately targeting civilian women or children (para 33. of Al-Haq judgment), despite figures from the UN Human Right's office back in November 2024 that approximately 70% of those killed were women and children. It appears that the UK government does not consider any men as potential civilians in Gaza.

For almost every single incident or airstrike which could show Israel making civilians the object of attack, it has been judged that there is not enough information to decide if it is even possibly a violation. On this basis, it was concluded in September 2024 that the evidence does not establish the existence of the genocidal intent, and that there was "no serious risk of genocide occurring" (Skeleton Arguments of the SOS, para 94.). The government's conclusion - or rather what it has 'not concluded' - is built on ignoring the evidence it holds of the crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians, and refusing to look at the pattern of these violations. Hundreds of alleged violations of IHL on their own do not immediately equate to genocidal intent but they completely undermine the Government's claims to have seen no evidence that Israel is deliberately targeting civilians, which is one of the key factors taken into account when they have "not concluded that Israel is acting with [genocidal] intent".

The UK has clear legal obligations to prevent, punish and ensure non-complicity in genocidal acts. The UN Commission of Inquiry is the latest major international body to confirm the designation of genocide, joining Palestinian and international human rights organisations, the International Court of Justice, the world's leading association of genocide scholars and many others. In the face of overwhelming evidence, such shallow attempts by the UK Government to evade accountability for its role in the mass killing, forced displacement and starvation the entirety of the population of Gaza will ultimately fail.

This Government has been playing a linguistic and legal game with MPs, the British public, and the lives of Palestinians. Rather than doing everything in its power to protect an occupied people, the UK Government has opted to back a state committing war crimes, while trialling future legal defences that allow the Government to say "if you read carefully, we actually never concluded anything at all".

Every day that passes, this government is deepening its complicity and that of its public servants, isolating Britain from international consensus, and perpetuating the violation of the inalienable rights of Palestinians that it is duty-bound to uphold.

We implore the UK Government to immediately review its flawed genocide assessment methodology, take urgent measures to end UK complicity, including ending all arms sales and military cooperation with Israel, and to follow every recommendation made by the Commission of Inquiry to all Member States, including imposing sanctions against the State of Israel and against individuals or corporations that are involved in or facilitating the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide.

Action For Humanity

Amos Trust

British Palestinian Committee

Campaign Against Arms Trade

European Legal Support Centre

Gender Action for Peace and Security

Global Justice Now

Global Legal Action Network

International Centre of Justice for Palestinians

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Sabeel-Kairos UK

Saferworld

Taawon UK