What is UK’s definition of Genocide?

Israel faces a South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its 13-month assault on Gaza, which has killed at least 43,391 Palestinians and wounded another 102,347, according to officials in the Hamas-governed enclave. The ICJ initially ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to uphold its obligations under the Genocide Convention in January

Falloutover remarks that David Lammy, the UK’s secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth, and development affairs, recently made to the House of Commons about the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip continued on Tuesday with a letter from 37 rights organizations. “We call on the foreign secretary, as a matter of urgency, to make a statement clarifying the government’s understanding of i) genocide in international law; ii) the scope of the UK’s international obligations pursuant to the Genocide Convention and Rome Statute; and iii) what steps must be taken to fulfill such obligations,” the coalition wrote.

The groups pointed to an exchange between Lammy, of the Labour Party, and Conservative Member of Parliament Nick Timothy on October 28, when the foreign secretary said that the way words like genocide are being used now “undermines the seriousness of that term.”

Israel faces a South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its 13-month assault on Gaza, which has killed at least 43,391 Palestinians and wounded another 102,347, according to officials in the Hamas-governed enclave. The ICJ initially ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to uphold its obligations under the Genocide Convention in January.

Lammy’s response to Timothy last week, “at best, has injected a deeply troubling ambiguity in respect of these pivotal issues in light of the mass atrocities perpetrated against civilians in Gaza,” the coalition argued Tuesday. He “chose to undermine international law and answer in opposition to the International Court of Justice.” “If Labour is indeed the party of international law, Foreign Secretary David Lammy must align with, rather than undermine, the courts.”

Despite Lammy’s suggestion, the Genocide Convention contains no numerical threshold and “is clear that the crime of genocide is not only perpetrated through mass killing,” the groups noted, highlighting Israeli attacks on food production, water infrastructure, healthcare facilities, and civilian housing, shelters, and camps.

In northern Gaza, “Palestinian civilians are being killed through starvation and dehydration, disease, deprivation of lifesaving medical intervention, and constant bombardment and targeting by weaponized drones,” they wrote. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres “has warned of the ethnic cleansing of Gaza by Israel while the U.N. Commission of Inquiry has concluded that the Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination of part of the civilian population in Gaza through direct and indirect means.”

Amichai Stein, a correspondent for state-owned Israeli broadcaster Kan, said on social media Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced “the division of the northern Gaza Strip into two parts has been completed, and we getting closer to the complete evacuation of the northern part from civilians and terrorists: ‘This time there is no intention to allow the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes and that humanitarian aid will regularly enter the southern Gaza Strip.’”

While the US has repeatedly faced global condemnation for arming Israel over the past year, the rights coalition on Tuesday focused on the UK government, emphasizing that “to the extent that the ICJ has already ordered provisional measures, the UK is on notice that a plausible risk of genocide exists, triggering third-state responsibility.”

Signatories to the letter include ActionAid UK, Christain Aid, Council for Arab-British Understanding, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), Global Justice Now, Jewish Network for Palestine, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Quakers in Britain, and War on Want.

GAPS director Eva Tabbasam told Middle East Eye that the language used to describe the war in Gaza “is essential to recognize the suffering of Palestinians and consider all possible actions the U.K. has to contribute to stopping what is a plausible risk of genocide.”

“If Labour is indeed the party of international law, Foreign Secretary David Lammy must align with, rather than undermine, the courts,” Tabbasam said. “He should have already done so months ago when the court first published this language, but the second best time is right now.”

Separately, War on Want on Tuesday published an analysis detailing how “Israel is committing genocide of the Palestinian people” and arguing that “the U.K. government is failing to uphold international law, and is complicit in Israel’s crimes, as it continues to export weapons and technology used by Israel against the Palestinian people.”

The London-based organization is also circulating a petition in response to the foreign secretary’s remarks from last week, which says in part: “David Lammy is misleading parliament and the UK public. He must tell the truth — that this is genocide — and immediately take action to stop the genocide, and the U.K.’s complicity.” Other responses to Lammy’s comments have included public criticism from What Is Genocide? author Martin Shaw and dozens of public figures in the Arab British community demanding an apology.