❓WHAT HAPPENED: Britain’s governing Labour Party voted to accept that a genocide is taking place in Gaza, based on claims by the United Nations (UN), at its annual conference.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Labour Party members, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, and the UN Commission of Inquiry.
📍WHEN & WHERE: During the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, England, following the UN report released nearly two weeks ago.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It must be for the ICJ [International Court of Justice] with their judges and judiciary, and for the ICC [International Criminal Court], to determine the issue of genocide in relation to the convention, it is not for politicians like me to do that.” – David Lammy
🎯IMPACT: The party vote embarrasses the Labour government, which has not endorsed the view that Israel is acting with genocidal intent in Gaza.
Britain’s governing Labour Party has voted to acknowledge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza at its annual party conference, following the findings of a United Nations commission of inquiry. The vote, passed with strong backing from trade unions, embarrasses Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government, as neither he nor his Cabinet has endorsed the view that Israel is acting with genocidal intent, and piles pressure on them to align with their party base.
The UN commission concluded earlier this month that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel has committed four of five genocidal acts outlined under international law since the war with Hamas began in 2023. Israel has rejected the report’s findings, calling them “distorted and false.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet have stopped short of endorsing the genocide label, insisting that such determinations should be left to international courts. Israel is currently the subject of a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where it faces charges of genocide brought by South Africa.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy responded to the conference vote by reaffirming the government’s position. “It must be for the ICJ with their judges and judiciary, and for the ICC [International Criminal Court], to determine the issue of genocide in relation to the convention,” he said. “It is not for politicians like me to do that.”
Lammy, who has previously described President Donald J. Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement as a “cult of white supremacists,” did add that, during his tenure as Foreign Secretary, he had identified a “clear risk” of Israel breaching international humanitarian law. Consequently, dozens of arms export licences to Israel have been suspended, and targeted sanctions on certain Israeli officials have been imposed.
Earlier this month, Starmer’s government also formally recognized Palestinian statehood.
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