UK and US may recognise state of Palestine after Gaza war – what this important step would mean
The US and UK governments have indicated they are considering recognising Palestine as a state after the current conflict ends.
- The US and UK governments have indicated they are considering recognising Palestine as a state after the current conflict ends.
- US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, meanwhile told US media site Axios that he had commissioned the State Department to review potential options for US and international recognition of a Palestinian state.
- Previously, US policy towards Palestinian statehood had been that this was a matter for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
- International recognition would usher in a new phase for the realisation of Palestinian statehood.
Getting recognised
- There is a detailed and complex process by which new states are recognised under international law, established in 1933 by the Montevideo convention on the rights and duties of states.
- It abstained in the UN general assembly vote in 2012 that granted the non-member observer status at the UN.
- It would change the situation to an international armed conflict which involves one or more states taking up arms against another.
Establishing accountability
- In 2021, the ICC prosecutor initiated investigations into the “situation in the state of Palestine”.
- In respect to the territorial scope of this jurisdiction and investigation, it extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Palestine’s obligations
- Recognition as a state would involve certain obligations on the part of Palestine, both in terms of international law and human rights.
- States have concrete obligations and duties under international law in relation to how they deal with armed conflicts.
- They are also obliged to act according to international law in recognising and protecting human rights in the territory under their jurisdiction.
Tonny Raymond Kirabira does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.