STATEMENT: Israel is committing genocide, Australia must act

Australia cannot credibly claim to support Palestinian self-determination while remaining silent on the gravest of international crimes. The failure to recognise and respond to the UN Commission of Inquiry’s conclusion reflects a profound abdication of Australia’s obligations under international law, including the Genocide Convention. The Genocide Convention imposes clear and binding duties on all States, including Australia, to prevent and punish genocide, to refrain from complicity, and to ensure accountability. Mere recognition of Palestine, while symbolically significant, does not discharge these obligations. Absent urgent and tangible measures, Australia risks complicity in the commission of genocide and other grave international crimes.

On 16 September 2025, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry published a damning report concluding that Israeli authorities and forces have committed and continue to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This marks the first determination by an official United Nations body that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza. Such findings require urgent and coordinated action by the international community to safeguard Palestinian lives and to ensure compliance with international law.

In fact, the Commission found that Israel has committed 4 of the 5 genocidal acts defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention:

• Deliberately killing individuals because they belong to a targeted national, ethnic, racial, or religious group
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm
• Deliberately inflicting living conditions aimed at physical destruction of the targeted group in whole or in part
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the targeted group

Their report also found clear evidence of genocidal intent, citing repeated statements made by senior Israeli officials and a sustained pattern of military conduct. This evidence shows that this genocide was not incidental, but deliberate and systematic. The Commission holds senior Israeli political and military leaders responsible and cites their numerous public statements and official orders as evidence of State responsibility for genocide.

The Report urges States to:

• Fulfil their duty to prevent genocide, which is part of customary international law and binding on all states;
• Press for an immediate ceasefire and the end of hostilities;
• Ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and an end to blockade conditions;
• Suspend arms transfers and military support to Israel;
• Support accountability mechanisms, including the ICC and universal jurisdiction efforts;
• Comply fully with non-derogable legal obligations under the Genocide Convention; and
• Facilitate independent monitoring and investigations.

These should not be regarded as optional measures—each of these steps has the potential to exert real pressure and compel Israel to halt its genocidal campaign. The Commission’s report makes clear: States cannot continue to stand by.

Despite overwhelming evidence and repeated warnings from UN and international law experts over the last 23 months, there has been no two-way arms embargo imposed against Israel by the Australian government, no effort to restrict Australian dual nationals from joining or serving in the Israeli military, and no investigations by Australian authorities into their possible involvement in international crimes, including in the genocidal campaign in Gaza.

As a party to the Genocide Convention, there is no doubt Australia has a legal duty to prevent genocide and to ensure it is not, in any way, complicit in its commission.

The Australian government must treat the report’s findings with the seriousness they demand and scrutinise every avenue through which Australia may be directly or indirectly complicit.

We have long called on the Australian government to undertake the following steps, which we note are now urgently overdue:

• Enforce a comprehensive two-way arms embargo and end all supply of arms, parts, and components to Israel, including via third countries;
• Cease all trade in products, components, and technology that are, or could be, used for military purposes;
• Terminate political and diplomatic cover for Israel, including by withdrawing Australian diplomatic representation in relation to defence and trade;
• Prohibit financial transactions with illegal Israeli settlements and with any organisation that supports settlement activity;
• Revoke tax-deductibility for Australian charities that provide funding to Israeli settlements or organisations supporting such activity;
• End sovereign wealth fund investments in companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law;
• Impose targeted sanctions on individuals within Israel’s political and military leadership responsible for international crimes;
• Restrict Australian dual nationals from joining or serving in the Israeli military, and direct Australian authorities to investigate their potential involvement in international crimes;
• Deny visas to individuals complicit in the perpetration of international crimes by the Israeli military;
• Comply fully with all orders and decisions of international courts in relation to this situation.

The Australian government cannot remain a bystander—it is legally required to act to prevent genocide. Its continued failure to implement meaningful measures will be judged harshly by the international community.

 

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