Youthlaw supports community workers’ rights to join today’s Strike for Gaza without fear of reprisal. We back community sector calls for our peak bodies – the Federation of Community Legal Centres and Victorian Council of Social Service – to take concrete action to publicly condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and advocate for the Australian Government to uphold international law, starting with an arms embargo and an end to trade and military cooperation with Israel.
As an organisation committed to fearless advocacy and human rights, Youthlaw continues to condemn the catastrophic loss of life perpetrated against civilians in Gaza by Israel. The assault on Gaza has continued for almost two years, with over 60,000 people killed and over 146,000 injured. In Gaza, over 50,000 Palestinian children have been killed or injured, thousands more orphaned, and one million children displaced. Right now, Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world for children, with starvation, disease, and trauma being weaponised against a besieged population.
The humanitarian and legal consensus from dozens of United Nations bodies and experts, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch is clear: this is genocide, and it must end.
We urge our community sector peak bodies to take a clear public stand in calling for the Australian Government to uphold its obligations under international law. By continuing arms trade and military cooperation with Israel, Australia is enabling grave human rights abuses. Condemnation without action is meaningless. The Australian Government must impose sanctions, cease military exports, and hold those responsible for war crimes to account.
As an organisation working with and for young people, we are alarmed not only by the suffering of Palestinian children abroad, but also by punitive measures imposed against young people here in Victoria for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly in solidarity with Gaza. Across schools, universities, and workplaces, we have heard from young students and workers who have faced criminal charges and disciplinary action, surveillance, and threats for speaking out and taking part in peaceful protests. Through our legal services and advocacy with Smart Justice for Young People, we have heard how First Nations young people and young people of colour are disproportionately facing punitive and disciplinary action for standing up for Gaza, and the ripple effects this has on their families and communities.
We will not look away. We will not be silent. At Youthlaw, we stand for justice, peace and human rights.
See Youthlaw’s previous public statement from 2 April 2024 linked and below.
Statement On The Israel Palestine War
Our organisation was founded with a vision of a just and equitable society for and shaped by young people, for which we are fearless advocates within a human rights framework. Our daily work involves protecting and asserting the human rights of young people, and this includes advocating for compliance with international human rights law and conventions. For this reason our organisation feels compelled to speak up in support of the children and young people of Palestine whose human rights are being abhorrently violated in the ongoing conflict.
We are gravely concerned by the escalating and catastrophic humanitarian disaster caused by the ongoing Israeli military attacks, and we emphasise the findings of the interim decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 20 January 2024 which included a plausible case of genocide being perpetrated by Israel.
We are continuously shocked and saddened as to the significant loss of civilian life in Gaza, and that this includes an enormous number of children and young people. UNICEF has identified that Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world for children; over 10,000 children have been killed and nearly one million displaced, many of whom have lost one or both parents and suffered significant physical and mental trauma. Children and their families are now starving to death without access to food, or shelter or water, nor the right to self-determination of their religion and culture.
Youthlaw joins the call for a permanent ceasefire and a just and peaceful resolution to the current conflict. We call on all levels of Australian government to act in accordance with our responsibilities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Genocide Convention, the Rome Statute, and the interim orders of the ICJ for the international community to actively protect Palestinians from genocide.
We condemn the violence committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and affirm the ICJ’s order that all hostages held by Hamas be immediately and unconditionally released.
We also condemn antisemitism, anti-Arab sentiment, Islamophobia and all forms of racism which have no place in our Australian communities nor the global community.
Ariel Couchman
CEO
Young People’s Legal Rights Centre (YOUTHLAW)