Marking the one-year anniversary since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found plausible risk that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (Sunday 26 January), Amnesty International said the UK government’s disregard for its legal obligations to prevent genocide had contributed to Israel’s impunity and risked British complicity in serious crimes against international law. 

Amnesty is calling on the UK government to take urgent and meaningful steps to prevent Israel’s genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza, as it is obligated to do as a State Party to the Genocide Convention.   

The landmark case at the ICJ was brought by South Africa and the court’s judges ordered provisional measures to protect Palestinians from further harm, however these were dismissed by Israel. Amnesty’s own analysis concluded that Israel is engaged in committing genocide in a comprehensive report published last year and it continues to do so. 

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said: 

“The UK government should have taken heed of this extremely significant ICJ ruling the day it was announced. UK inaction and disregard for its international obligations to prevent genocide contributed to Israel’s impunity and risked British complicity in serious crimes against international law. 

“The genocide against the Palestinian people is a matter of law and evidence, not opinion. Prime Minister Keir Starmer must accept the UK’s obligations to prevent Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and help ensure there is justice and accountability. 

“To avoid the risk of itself being complicit in genocide, the UK should have ended all arms transfers to Israel long ago and committed full support to the ICJ and other important international accountability mechanisms. The UK should take those steps urgently now. 

“The staggering number of Palestinian civilians killed, the colossal scale of physical destruction, the blocking of life-saving aid before the ceasefire, and the stream of dehumanising and racist anti-Palestinian rhetoric from Israeli officials, provide the clear evidential basis for genocidal intent, as defined by law, in Israel’s actions in Gaza.  

“The UK government must fulfil its duties to stop genocidal acts even when committed by an ally and show clearly that it is UK policy that Palestinian lives matter as much as any other human life.”

Evidence of genocide 

In December 2024, Amnesty’s International’s research found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed - and is continuing to commit - genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. 

The 296-page report - ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza - documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.  Amnesty examined Israel’s acts in Gaza closely and in their totality, taking into account their recurrence and simultaneous occurrence, and both their immediate impact and their cumulative and mutually-reinforcing consequences. Amnesty considered the scale and severity of the casualties and destruction over time, and also analysed public statements by officials - finding that prohibited acts were often announced or called for in the first place by high-level officials in charge of the war efforts. 

As a state party to the Genocide Convention, the UK has a legal obligation to use all reasonable means to help prevent genocide and be consistent when supporting international law – just as it has done when calling out crimes carried out by Russian forces.