“Bringing a political settlement based on peace and justice has never been more crucial. We must help bring this war, this slaughter, to an end, and ensure that Palestine is free and sovereign.”
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)’s Kate Hudson writes on why we must increase political pressure for a ceasefire as the the humanitarian catastrophe escalates in Gaza
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week took the rare step of invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, so he can bring the Gaza catastrophe directly to the attention of the Security Council.
In his letter to the Council, Guterres said that: “facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, I urge the Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.” He warned that the situation is “fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security within the region.”
That Guterres is absolutely right can hardly be in doubt.
Intensive attacks are underway in south Gaza, yet what of the two million civilians imprisoned there? There is talk of local evacuations, of ‘safe zones’ but how can that really be possible in such a densely populated area? The media coverage is too tragic to bear, and it is beyond belief that such crimes can be allowed to take place.
The UN has warned of increased risk of death from disease, among the war-weakened, hungry population of Gaza. It says that the return to full scale hostilities will ‘precipitate and accelerate large-scale dying’.
Bringing a political settlement based on peace and justice has never been more crucial. We must help bring this war, this slaughter, to an end, and ensure that Palestine is free and sovereign.
Worldwide protests are already on a mass scale, crossing all continents and millions are mobilising. We are also seeing a powerful response globally to the appeal from Palestinian trade unions – to stop the Israeli war machine, blocking arms transports and building related forms of solidarity action. This has resulted in significant developments: among many examples – at the ports of Barcelona, Naples and Genoa, of Oakland and Melbourne; Indian trade unions have called for a refusal to handle Israeli cargo; in Britain, trade unionists have blocked arms factories exporting to Israel. Last Thursday there were four blockades involving 1,000 trade unionists, at BAE systems in Glasgow, and other factories in Lancashire, Brighton and Bournemouth, which produce components for the F35 fighter jet, being used in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Big respect to all those involved.
And we do also have some political power that we must recognise: that we will never vote for a politician who has not called for a ceasefire. That is now a powerful rallying cry of this movement: No Ceasefire – No Vote! We must make that power count at the ballot box – and bring political change. Politicians are supposed to represent us; let’s make sure we have politicians that do.
- This article was originally published in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)’s December campaign magazine.
- Kate Hudson is the General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. You can follow her on twitter here; and follow the CND on Facebook, Instagram and twitter.
