GLAN | Global Legal Action Network

Our partner, Irish Uyghur Cultural Association responds to Irish Times article on economic impacts of sanctions against forced labour, without mentioning the 2022 UN report that found accusations of violations against Uyghurs may constitute 'crimes against humanity'.

While the news of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is welcome it is vital to recognise this is not the cessation of the ongoing genocide against a trapped civilian population. Violence against ordinary Palestinians across the occupied territories has dramatically escalated in the last 15 months with dispossession and killings in the West Bank increasing sharply; it is the culmination of a decades long brutal military occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel, recognised by the international community as illegal. This was again confirmed by the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion in July 2024. The ceasefire does not address this fundamental issue. The scale of the crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, in which the UK, US and other countries have been deeply complicit, will take time to fully comprehend. This ceasefire must lead to lasting peace and the complete withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories as required by international law; the genocide against civilians will not end unless Palestinians receive humanitarian aid unhindered and essential resources after the systematic destruction of homes, hospitals and critical civilian infrastructure. Israel’s attempts to eliminate Palestinians from their land are likely to continue after Israel and Hamas call a truce – now is the time to keep up the pressure. Efforts to hold companies and government officials accountable for complicity must be supported. GLAN and ‎Al-Haq Organisation | مؤسسة الحق‎ will continue to challenge all UK weapons exports to Israel which are used to commit or facilitate violations of international law in both Gaza and the West Bank. We must not look away – now is the time to stand with Palestinians and keep a spotlight on Israel’s unlawful occupation. More about our work: https://lnkd.in/dW-2ifQZ #ceasefire #IHL #occupation #Palestine #Israel

NEW: Latest response on F-35 exports reveals no red lines for UK government in context of atrocities in Gaza. Following a fresh review the UK Government has doubled down on its previous position that protecting global sales of F-35s takes precedence over its obligation to protect human life in Gaza. The government submission to the High Court in our legal challenge said: ‼️ The Government accepts that there is a clear risk that Israel might commit a serious violation of international humanitarian law, including through the use of F-35 fighter jets. ‼️ Despite this risk the Government has again decided to continue to supply components for F-35 into the global spares pool which could be used by Israel to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law. ‼️ The Government’s justification for this decision is that it would be damaging to international peace and security if the UK were to suspend its export of F-35 components into the global spares pool. The Government say that these ‘exceptional circumstances’ are a ‘good reason’ not to follow its own licensing criteria for exporting weapons – and international legal obligations. ‼️ The Government says that the interests of international peace and security is a “matter of such gravity that it would have overridden any [...] further evidence of serious breaches of IHL”. This clearly is an extreme position. The Government seem to be effectively saying that there is no world in which the supply of F-35 components would be suspended. Support our urgent fight to uphold the rule of law and stop the UK arming Israel now: glan.live/war-crimes https://lnkd.in/eaEgdz5m

✈️ ⚠️ Ryanair has announced unlawful flights connecting Spain to occupied Western Sahara. Western Sahara’s government in exile says the Moroccan government and the airline shouldn’t be the ones making such decisions. In 1962, the UN ruled that colonisation of the region must end, with the Hague ruling that the Sahrawi people must have the rights to self-determination, but in 1975, Spain withdrew and Morocco seized control. For 50 years the Sahrawi people have faced human rights violations and systemic repression. Tell Ryanair to respect international law and ground flights until appropriate consultation and agreement with the Sahrawi people has been made. Follow Western Sahara Resource Watch for more on the situation. Read: https://lnkd.in/e2BKVSpg #law #aviation #westernsahara #Sahrawi #westernsahara #occupation

🚨Shocking news from the European Court of Human Rights: The court has dismissed the case of an unaccompanied minor, G.R.J., who suffered a life threatening ‘pushback’ while trying to claim asylum in Greece, and was left adrift in the Aegean Sea. Substantial evidence corroborating G.R.J.'s account was submitted to the ECtHR, including audio-visual files of the two minors as they were rescued by the Turkish Coastguard. Evidence such as this has been proven to be reliably verifiable using geolocation and chronolocation techniques, by numerous experts including the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Bellingcat, Lighthouse and Forensic Architecture. The applicant's account was also corroborated by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, who submitted a third-party intervention in the case. ‼️Despite this, the court ruled that G.R.J. had “failed to provide prima facie evidence of his presence in Greece and of his “pushback” to Türkiye from the island of Samos on the dates alleged.”  “This outcome is shocking, profoundly unjust, and a devastating blow to justice and accountability. As the first case of its kind to be heard by the ECtHR, it should have set a precedent for addressing the systematic practice of ‘driftbacks’ that puts asylum seekers’ lives at risk on a near-daily basis. Instead, the decision rewards Greece’s deliberate cover-ups and sets an impossibly high evidentiary threshold for survivors of pushbacks." said, Niamh Keady-Tabbal, of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at University of Galway and member of the legal team representing GRJ. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e_jQPhVu

Former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon has stood by his comments that Israeli forces were committing war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. Ya'alon faced criticism in Israel on Saturday after he said Israeli troops were carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza. “There is no Beit Lahia, there is no Beit Hanoun. They are operating in Jabalia and are essentially clearing the area of Arabs,” Ya'alon said in an interview with Democrat TV, describing the actions of Israeli forces.

🚨 NEW: The UK has been forced to review exports of F-35 warplane components after admitting Israel “not committed to complying” with international law In response to our pre-action letter sent last week, the UK government has said it is reviewing its decision to allow the export of components for the F-35 warplane to a global pool which serves Israel and other direct arms export licences. On November 25th, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Al-Haq wrote to the UK government informing them of their intention to file for ‘interim relief’, an emergency injunction, with the UK High Court over their failure to revoke all arms export licences to Israel or to review their recent decision to exempt the F-35 programme from an earlier arms suspension. This move followed the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant on the basis there are reasonable grounds to believe that they are criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza". In a High Court hearing before the warrants were issued the UK government was forced to admit that “Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law” by its own legal assessment. Shawan Jabarin, ‎Al-Haq Organisation | مؤسسة الحق‎ General Director, said, “Every day our people are being killed by F-35’s in Gaza. Refugee camps packed with displaced families, the elderly, the sick, and children are being bombed by F-35’s, so-called ‘safe zones’ housing the displaced in makeshift tents are being bombed. Day after day bombed buildings crush the heads of our young children and babies. This must stop. The UK has international obligations to stop supplying arms and parts to Israel used to commit international crimes including genocide. https://lnkd.in/ee3dmBvm #genocide #armstrade #uklaw #humanrights #news #UK #Palestine #israel #Gaza #ceasefirenow #sanctions #stoparmingisrael

BREAKING: GLAN and ‎Al-Haq Organisation | مؤسسة الحق‎ have informed the government we will pursue an emergency injunction over arms exports to Israel as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants. ⏰ They have until Friday to act. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza". The court also found that the Israeli leaders had intentionally limited or prevented medical supplies from getting into the Gaza Strip, forcing doctors to operate and carry out amputations, including on children, without anaesthetics. The UK must end its complicity in Israel's atrocity crimes now. Support our urgent fight via the crowdfund for legal costs: https://lnkd.in/eN22bunS #ICC #Israel #warcrimes #genocide #Palestine #Gaza #starvation #warcriminals #UKlaw #armstrade

GLAN Senior Lawyer Dearbhla Minogue and ‎Al-Haq Organisation | مؤسسة الحق‎'s Ahmed Abofoul were interviewed about our arms exports challenge outside court on Monday. Watch now for a more in-depth discussion of the key issues in the case: https://lnkd.in/dSJb7N-h #armstrade #uklaw #israel #Palestine #ICC #warcrimes #Gaza #Westbank

UK admits in court that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law In the High Court this week, GLAN and ‎Al-Haq Organisation | مؤسسة الحق‎ exposed several failures in the government’s decision-making over arms exports to Israel: 🚨 During proceedings in our case, the government was forced to admit that “Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law” by its own assessment. 🚨 GLAN and Al-Haq can reveal the government waited 5 weeks to act on its own assessment (made on 24 July 2024) that UK weaponry were at risk of being used in serious violations of IHL and that exports should be suspended. Between 24 July and 2 September, at least 1,716 Palestinians were killed by Israel in Gaza, according to UNOCHA. 🚨 In making their latest decision, the government weighed the harm to civilians in Palestine against the operation of the global F-35 programme; it chose political expediency over the lives of Palestinians.  The government explicitly said, ‘The risk to the UK/US relationship’ was a key factor in deciding to continue with F-35 exports. A further decision will be made by the court in early January when a final, extended hearing date will be set. We cannot do this work without your support - please share and back the crowdfund: glan.live/war-crimes