Her/His Excellency
Dear Ambassador,
on Friday 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to take measures to immediately prevent further killings of the Palestinian people in Gaza and to stop any other acts that could be classified as genocidal. Although the Court did not order a complete cessation of military attacks, its decision warned that Israel’s attacks on Gaza constitute a risk of committing genocide. A serious and comprehensive implementation of the Court’s demands requires that the current bombing and destruction of Gaza be stopped.
Although the ICJ decision is binding, the Israeli government has already refused to comply with it. Moreover, Israeli attacks on Gaza have escalated since the ICJ measures were adopted – at the moment Israeli is preparing for a full scale attack on Rafah, where more than half of the population of Gaza live. At the same time, Israel is further restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where people – especially babies and young children – are no longer only dying from military attacks, but also from starvation.
The Court recognised that Israel’s conduct constitutes a risk of committing the crime of genocide. State Parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide are therefore obliged to do everything in their power to prevent genocide. It is imperative that the international community fulfils its responsibilities and does everything possible to uphold the rule of international law and ensure respect for the ICJ decision. This is the task of all Member States of the United Nations.
It is therefore imperative that you call upon your government to:
- persistently and unconditionally call for an immediate ceasefire and ensure respect for the human rights of the people of Gaza and the West Bank;
- adopt an embargo on trade in arms and military equipment with Israel
- propose and advocate for sanctions against Israel
- offer all the humanitarian and medical assistance that the people of Gaza could need, need and will need after the widespread destruction of lives, homes and infrastructure that we are witnessing;