BYM backs ICJ on Gaza
The court described the conditions in Rafah as ‘disastrous’.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has joined twenty-one other charities calling on the UK government to ensure Israel complies with its obligations under international law. This includes immediately halting its military offensive in Rafah.
The statement follows orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 24 May that, in light of the worsening conditions in Rafah, Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah governorate, which may subject the Palestinian population in Gaza to conditions of life that may lead to their physical destruction, in whole or in part.
The court described the conditions in Rafah as ‘disastrous’. It said it is ‘not convinced that the evacuation efforts… that Israel affirms to have undertaken… are sufficient to alleviate the immense risk to which the Palestinian population is exposed as a result of the military offensive in Rafah’.
The statement also highlights ICJ’s recent call for ‘immediate and effective implementation’ of orders made earlier in the year. These include for ‘urgently-needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, and the maintained opening of land crossing points, particularly the Rafah crossing’.
‘The UK must unreservedly accept the findings and orders of the Court. As a signatory to the Genocide Convention and the UN Charter, the UK must ensure that the Court’s decisions are respected and enacted, by way of public statements and concrete policy actions,’ it said. ‘Failure to do so not only risks further loss of civilian lives, it also risks unravelling the very foundations of the international rules-based system and international justice.’
The ICJ also ordered Israel to allow unhindered access for any commission of inquiry, fact-finding initiatives or other UN bodies to investigate allegations of genocide. It reiterated calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Israel is required to submit a report in less than a month, outlining measures taken to comply with these orders.
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