The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable. CONCORD, the European Confederation of NGOs working on sustainable development, calls on the European Union to act decisively to stop Israel’s attacks in Gaza, to guarantee the protection of civilians, to prevent any further forced displacement, to allow the free flow of humanitarian aid under UN supervision and with the support of civil society, and to ensure that independent media have safe and secure access to report from the ground.
All states have the obligation to use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Under the Genocide Convention (1948, Article I), all EU Member States have a binding duty to prevent and punish genocide once they are aware of a serious risk. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949, Article 1), they are obliged to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law; Additional Protocol I (1977, Article 54) prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and Article 70 guarantees unimpeded humanitarian relief. The Treaty on European Union (Article 21) commits the Union to uphold human rights, humanitarian principles, and international law in its external action. Failure to act—or worse, providing support that enables violations—risks not only moral complicity but also legal responsibility under international and European law. There is now adequate evidence, such as the conclusions of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, that Israel’s actions in Gaza demand a decisive response by the EU to prevent genocide and famine. The EU must not look away or resort to half-measures and empty rhetoric.
Moments such as these put European values to the test. We call on the EU to live up to our values and to act now!!