Statement on Genocide in Gaza

As a collective of civil society organizations dedicated to international development and humanitarian action, we are compelled to speak with clarity and conviction against the situation unfolding in the occupied Palestinian territory. We express our gravest concern over the deepening humanitarian catastrophe and man-made famine in Gaza—where leading international, Israeli and Palestanian legal experts as well as international institutions have concluded, with increasing and overwhelming evidence, that Israel is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In Gaza, we are witnessing the systematic destruction of civilian life, infrastructure and access to essential resources. The deliberate blockade of humanitarian aid, mass forced displacement, targeted attacks on civilians including children and the engineered famine now devastating Gaza constitute not just a humanitarian crisis but a campaign of mass death and deliberate devastation that violates the core tenets of international humanitarian law. 

UN experts have recently called for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, as genocide and a man-made famine unfold in Gaza, adding that “Silence and inaction are not an option in the face of mass atrocities.”  

Furthermore, the world’s leading association of genocide scholars issued a resolution indicating that, “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)”. The scholars further call on Israel to “immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population.”

This comes in addition to International Court of Justice findings that it is plausible that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and further ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement of genocide and to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. 

As genocide is increasingly recognized as unfolding in Palestine, Canada is legally obliged to take proactive and immediate steps to protect Palestinians, prevent further violence, avoid complicity and support accountability through international justice mechanisms. These obligations are binding under the Genocide Convention and reinforced by customary international law. They are not optional and not contingent on political considerations.

As such, we, the undersigned, call on Canada to immediately:

• Halt all Canadian arms and weapons transfers to Israel
• Impose restrictive measures on Israel’s military leaders committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
• Suspend all military cooperation and intelligence-sharing with Israel
• Pursue all available measures to ensure full and immediate access for humanitarian goods, services and personnel into Gaza
• Support international legal mechanisms and ongoing investigations into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide

Canada recently made use of similar measures when it declared the atrocities against the Rohingya in Myanmar as genocide in 2018. As a signatory to the Genocide Convention and a nation committed to international law, Canada must act decisively to prevent and punish acts of genocide—wherever they occur. 

Signatories:

Cooperation Canada

Humanity & Inclusion

International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF)

Islamic Relief Canada

Oxfam Canada

Oxfam-Québec

Results Canada 

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières Canada

Mennonite Central Committee Canada

Notes to Editors:

Earlier this year, Cooperation Canada welcomed Canada’s decision to take steps toward the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Media Contact

Gabriel Karasz-Perriau, Senior Communications Manager
gkaraszperriau@cooperation.ca
(514) 945-0309