UK government admitted to ‘credible claims of mistreatment’ of Palestinian detainees one day after missing deadline to respond to letter highlighting legal obligations to prevent torture
10th September 2024- Despite announcing a partial ban on arms sales last week, the UK government has missed its own deadline to respond to correspondence sent by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) on the UK’s positive legal obligations to prevent torture of Palestinian detainees by Israel.
On the 12th August 2024, ICJP wrote a private letter to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) highlighting the UK’s positive legal obligations under international law to prevent the practice of torture. The policy of the Attorney General’s Office that they aim to ‘answer all correspondence that falls within the remit of the AGO within 20 days’ was regrettably not met. ICJP had received no response from the AGO by 1st September 2024, which was the deadline to respond. To date, ICJP has still received no response.
The following day, along with the announcement of the government’s decision to implement a partial ban on arms sales, the UK government released a policy paper entitled ‘Summary of the IHL process, decision and the factors taken into account.’ One of the factors that was allegedly key to the partial suspension decision was ‘credible claims of the mistreatment’ of Palestinian detainees by Israel.
The UK government’s acknowledgement of the credibility of such claims is important, however, ‘mistreatment’ remains a gross understatement and obfuscation of the reality of Israel’s systemic use of torture. This system of torture has been well-documented by CCTV footage, witness testimony, and major reports by UN organisations and the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem. Moreover, referring to ‘mistreatment of detainees’ unhelpfully omits the word ‘Palestinian’.
Also, the government’s acknowledgement of the credibility of such claims sits at odds with the AGO’s lack of response to a letter that explicitly highlighted the UK’s legal obligations to prevent torture. The UK government is also yet to take concerted steps to prevent the brutal torture that Israeli forces are perpetrating on Palestinian detainees.
In the initial letter, ICJP asked the AGO what steps the UK was taking to suppress and prevent Israeli torture of Palestinian detainees, and how the UK government was ensuring that British nationals actively serving as Israeli military personnel are being investigated for possible breaches of international crimes, including torture.
The Attorney General, with his esteemed international law background and expertise in torture-related matters, is cognisant of the law. Yet rather than applying the law, realpolitik with deference to Israel’s conduct has been the modus operandi of the incumbent government—a regrettable continuation of the previous government’s policies.
ICJP Legal Officer Zaki Sarraf said:
“It’s an important step that the UK government is acknowledging torture of Palestinian detainees. However, the watered-down language used by the government deflects away from the reality that Israeli forces have been systematically torturing Palestinians for decades, and the UK’s acknowledgement is useless without any action alongside it.
The government has to walk the walk to back up their words. If they really want to oppose Israel’s torture of Palestinians, they must investigate British individuals who may be complicit and they must actively prevent Israeli torture of Palestinian detainees.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
- For more information, for a full copy of any of the letters sent, or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected].