After 471 days of a devastating conflict that shocked the world’s conscience through its inhumanity and sheer degradation of human life, LPHR welcomes the fragile ceasefire that came into effect yesterday. We hope it holds and proves to be day one of a long sustained recovery. There is every reason to be cautious in expressing this hope, but it is the vision of sustained peace that must prevail.
In response to the beyond-catastrophic situation in Gaza, there is an overwhelming imperative for the international community to pursue transformative change grounded in international law. We insist that the central principle underpinning the future of Gaza must be the respect and fulfilment of all fundamental human rights for its civilian Palestinian population. And this must be coupled with the necessity to give effect to the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its July 2024 advisory opinion.
The pursuit of legal accountability and justice for those responsible for the most serious international crimes is also imperative. As repeatedly warned by LPHR over the last decade, and horrifyingly borne out for the past 15 months, the absence of legal accountability for serious violations of international law will only embolden their future repetition.
The UK Minister for the Middle East recently stated in response to the International Criminal Court’s issuing of arrest warrants, that “international law is incredibly important to this government, all our actions will be guided by it.” LPHR wholly supports this necessary and principled declaration. We urge that the UK government must ensure there is full application of international law at this crossroads for the future of Palestine and Israel.