Three dozen UK NGOs call on David Lammy to clarify his position on genocide

Over three dozen British human rights and aid groups have called on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to clarify his understanding of genocide and Britain’s related legal obligations as pressure mounts over comments he made in relation to Israel's war in Gaza.

Last week, a Conservative MP asked the foreign secretary to clarify that "there is not a genocide occurring in the Middle East" and said that that terminology like "genocide" referring to Gaza was "not appropriate".

Lammy said he agreed and added: “Those terms were largely used when millions of people lost their lives in crises like Rwanda, the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the way that they are used now undermines the seriousness of that term."

On Tuesday, the 37 organisations, which include Christian Aid, Action Aid UK, the Council for Arab-British Understanding, and Medical Aid for Palestine, said Lammy’s focus on death tolls appeared to show “a dangerously misguided understanding of the crime”. The Genocide Convention does not use numerical thresholds to define the crime.

In an open letter, they said his comments “injected a deeply troubling ambiguity… in light of the mass atrocities perpetrated against civilians in Gaza”.

“The foreign secretary chose to undermine international law and answer in opposition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which has found there is a plausible risk of genocide," they wrote.

Given the ICJ's finding in January, the organisation said the UK government is "on notice" that a plausible risk of genocide exists and should reaffirm its commitment to respecting the ICJ's orders and international law.

'If Labour is indeed the party of international law, Foreign Secretary David Lammy must align with, rather than undermine, the courts'

- Eva Tabbasam, Gender Action for Peace and Security

"Such steps would allay the risk of the UK's complicity in any mass atrocity crimes committed by Israel, including the crime of genocide," they wrote.

Eva Tabbasam, director of Gender Action for Peace and Security which signed the letter, said the language used to describe the war in Gaza "is essential to recognise the suffering of Palestinians and consider all possible actions the UK 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 told Middle East Eye.

"He should have already done so months ago when the court first published this language, but the second best time is right now."

Sara Husseini, director of the British Palestinian Committee, which also signed the letter, told MEE: "The foreign secretary’s position betrays a chilling double standard on Palestine and a clear pattern of erasure when it comes to Palestinians."

"With each day that passes, this government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide deepens, as it continues to misrepresent the reality of the situation, while approving arms sales and other forms of military and diplomatic support to Israel," Husseini said. 

Since the war on Gaza began nearly 13 months ago, Israeli forces have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, including at least 17,000 children, and injured more than 100,000, according to Palestinian health officials. More than 10,000 people are missing and presumed dead under the rubble.