I have written to every backbench Labour MP urging them to press the govt to implement key measures regarding Gaza. I repeat my call here: I know you did not stand for election to preside over inaction in the face of such crimes. Call on the govt to act, today:
Dear Colleagues,
As backbench MPs in the governing party, you have a unique and vital ability to influence the decisions of our government. I know many of you share my deep concern at the scale of human suffering unfolding in Gaza. I am writing to urge you to use your position to press the government to live up to its legal and moral obligations, and to support the following measures without delay:
- Enact a full arms embargo on Israel, including on components for F-35 fighter jets, and suspend all military cooperation with Israel.
- Conduct and publish a comprehensive risk assessment of genocide in Gaza, in line with our obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
- Recognise the State of Palestine immediately, rather than treating recognition as a bargaining chip.
- Set out how the UK will hold any nationals implicated in war crimes in Palestine to account under UK law.
- Ban the importation of goods produced in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
- Deploy every diplomatic, legal, and economic instrument to secure an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages, unfettered humanitarian access into Gaza, and accountability for war crimes.
When the UK ratified the Genocide Convention in 1948, we voluntarily accepted not only the duty to punish genocide after it occurs, but the urgent duty to prevent it. Article 1 of the Convention imposes on us a clear obligation to act now to avert atrocity. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice warned of a “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza, a warning the government must take seriously. UN agencies describe Gaza as “the hungriest place on earth,” where blockades and bombardment have cut off nearly all life-saving aid and over a hundred people, including children, have starved to death since this conflict began. Amnesty International has meticulously documented patterns of deliberate starvation, the systematic destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure, forced displacement of entire communities, and dehumanising rhetoric from political and military leaders—actions that meet the Convention’s criteria for genocidal intent.
I know you did not stand for election to preside over inaction in the face of such crimes. Your voices, collectively, can push the government to adopt these urgent measures. This is not a matter of party politics, but of honouring our international commitments and basic human decency. I hope you will join me in calling on the government to implement these policies immediately, and I stand ready to work with any of you to secure cross-party support.
Yours sincerely,
Ellie