“The UK has an obligation to uphold international law and punish those guilty of war crimes.”
By Richard Burgon MP
Day after day, we have witnessed unimaginable atrocities carried out against the people of Gaza. What the International Court of Justice has labelled a plausible case of genocide has unfolded before our very eyes, live-streamed for the world to see.
We will never unsee these war crimes— nor should we ever have the luxury of doing so. Instead, we must ensure that there is accountability for those who carried out these atrocities and ensure that justice is delivered for their victims.
I want to focus my remarks today on the work I’m doing in Parliament to demand accountability for Israel’s repeated war crimes in Gaza and on getting our Government to take the action needed to uphold its international law obligations.
First, however, I want to thank Labour and Palestine, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the broader peace movement, the trade union movement, and every individual who has organised – and more importantly everyone who has been on – the huge marches over Gaza and all the other campaigning you’ve done.
Your constant lobbying of MPs, your demonstrations, and your campaigning have been the moral beacon we have needed in these dark times, despite Tory Ministers and the right-wing press falsely suggesting you are a threat to our democracy.
You have constantly put human rights, justice and humanity first, while many in the media and political class have shamefully failed to do so. Instead of standing for justice, they have all too often looked the other way.
We still have a long road ahead to secure justice, but every small step achieved is because of your campaigning and tireless efforts. That must continue until justice is done.
We cannot allow Israel to tear up the rule book of international law and commit war crime after war crime and simply then go unpunished.
If Israel is permitted to continue its war crimes with impunity, it will not only deepen the humanitarian nightmare in Gaza but risks expanding that further into the West Bank and across the wider Middle East. It also threatens the entire system of global justice. A world where such war crimes are tolerated is a world where anarchy replaces international law.
That is why in Parliament I launched, with Imran Hussain MP, a series of parliamentary evidence sessions into Israeli war crimes. Over 70 MPs from eight parties attended these sessions, where we shone a spotlight in Parliament on these atrocities as part of our efforts to put pressure on the then-Tory government to act against these violations of international law.
The evidence we gathered—from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Palestinian organisations like Al-Haq, and humanitarian NGOs with staff on the ground in Gaza was handed in to the Chief Prosecutors team at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on our recent visit there .
Our work in Parliament on this will continue because the issue of accountability is critical. The UK, as a signatory to various international conventions, has an obligation to uphold international law and punish those guilty of war crimes. Failing to act would be a betrayal of our international commitments.
Our new Labour government has taken some positive steps, including restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), withdrawing Tory Government challenges to the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants, and banning some arms sales.
However, Israel’s persistent disregard for international law makes it clear that much more action is needed.
We must push for a complete end to arms sales to Israel and especially for those parts that end up in F-35 fighter jets sold to Israel that have bombed Gaza with 2,000-pound bombs.
We need to prevent the tactics used in Gaza from spreading to the West Bank, further entrenching the illegal occupation there.
The UN General Assembly recently voted for Israel to end its ‘unlawful presence’ in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and called for sanctions and an end to all support that sustains the occupation to bring about this necessary change. This follows a historic advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice that Israel’s decades-long occupation is unlawful.
Our Government should act in support of these significant decisions. It should start by banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements and suspending the 2030 Roadmap which strengthens UK trade ties with Israel.
Additionally, recognising Palestine as a state would send a powerful message that the UK is serious about ending Israel’s illegal occupation.
Our Government is right to demand a ceasefire. But it is clear that without tougher action from it, Israel will continue to violate international law and reject any ceasefire. Nobody who defends the international rule of law should accept that.
- This is an edit of a speech given by Richard Burgon MP at the Labour and Palestine fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference.
- Richard Burgon is the MP for Leeds East, the Secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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