Stop civil servants from doing work that enables potential acts of genocide, PCS tells Cabinet Office

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has written to Cabinet Secretary Cat Little to restate our concerns that the government may be putting UK civil servants at risk of liability for crimes committed by the Israeli state and placing them in position of conflict given their obligations under the civil service code.

A recent letter from concerned staff in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Foreign Secretary that urged the government to act against Israel was met with a dismissive and inadequate response by senior civil servants.

At PCS’s annual delegate conference last month, PCS members reaffirmed their commitment to the Palestinian people in their struggle to achieve freedom from Israel’s cruel and unjust apartheid system and the achievement of a free and independent state.

As well as agreeing that no PCS member should be put at risk of being liable for aiding or assisting genocide, they pledged to fully back any member facing any sort of disciplinary action for refusing to action or work on any arms export license to Israel.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “PCS is extremely concerned that the government continues to ignore our members’ concerns that they may held liable under international law for the war crimes being committed daily by the state of Israel.

“Given the scale of the death toll and the depth of the destruction to Palestinian society in Gaza, this matter is urgent and government officials need to act quickly.“It is blindingly obvious that potential war crimes and acts of genocide are taking place. That is why we believe that the UK government has an obligation not only to rhetorically condemn some of these acts, but to prevent them all from happening in the first place. A good start would be to stop all work within the civil service and its related areas which in any way potentially enables acts of genocide.

“Confused messaging from the government has only made matters worse, taking the UK from a position of unconditional support for the actions of the Israeli state to one of veiled criticism. Civil servants must be able to clearly understand what the government’s position is if they are to fulfil their roles and obligations.

“The interception by Israel of the Madleen, a UK-flagged civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid to the besieged people of Gaza, is just the latest act by the Israeli state which asks for bold international leadership. It is time for the UK government to wake up and listen to its own workers.”