Calls for further action from ministers ahead of talks next week. 

UK civil society networks have signed a statement calling on the UK government to take further action against Israel and recognise a Palestinian state as a pathway to peace ahead of next week’s high-level week of the UN General Assembly. 

The networks state that “despite mounting evidence of genocide, as found by the UN Commission of Inquiry, the UK continues to fall short of its obligations under international law.”

Signatories include leaders of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, Climate Action Network UK, Scotland's International Development Alliance, the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, Trade Justice Movement and more.

The networks call for the UK to “demand immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to end the famine now threatening the Gazan population, stand fully behind the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and do all within its power to ensure that Israel complies with the Court, take steps to prevent genocide and hold Israel to account for violations of international law”.

They also call for the UK to “end all arms sales and transfers to Israel, suspend all preferential trade arrangements and end economic cooperation that supports violations of international law.” The statement also calls for the UK to “sanction officials and entities responsible for atrocities and adopt comprehensive measures to prevent UK businesses from contributing to violations of international law in Gaza and the West Bank”. 

The networks cite actions made by countries like Spain, Ireland and Sweden as examples of what is possible, since they go further than current UK measures including implementing a legally codified arms embargo and banning entry for individuals involved in alleged war crimes.