Why we are taking a position on Gaza
Our allies in the global south are denouncing the genocide in Gaza and seeing it as connected to issues of debt and financing. There have been strong collective statements condemning the common systemic and structural roots of the genocide in Gaza and the economic violence against and extraction from the wider global south. Solidarity with our partners and movements in the global south is central to our way of working, and expressing solidarity on Gaza is an important part of that.
Taking a position on Gaza is also consistent with our existing work on debt and colonialism which highlights the colonial roots and neo-colonial nature of debt as a tool of extraction by rich countries. The brutalisation of Gaza, facilitated by global north governments including the UK, is an example of the continued use of violent coercion, destruction and occupation in neo-colonial domination. We need to recognise that the hidden violence of coercion by debt takes place alongside overt and indeed genocidal violence of military occupation.
There is a long history of Israeli aggression in Palestine, backed by the West. Israel has used military tools of destruction and occupation alongside economic tactics like blockades to impoverish the Palestinian people, culminating in famine, disease and death. Forcing communities to live in poverty dehumanises them and contributes to creating the conditions for genocide.
The genocide in Gaza is widely recognised as a key issue of our time. Its impact is being felt in multiple ways across UK society and international relations. The UK’s crackdown on protest over Palestine will have a chilling impact on all civil society space. This impacts our ability to join demonstrations, hold stunts and condemn injustice as an organisation.
Our charitable objectives
Our charitable objectives are: “The relief of global poverty in particular by advancing education relating to the problems of accumulating debts.” Although we have identified debt as the main way we tackle global poverty, our charitable objectives allow us to legitimately work on broader issues of poverty.
Our position
Debt Justice condemns the Israeli destruction of Gaza and the genocide of Palestinian people, which is having an appalling cost in terms of lives and mass impoverishment of people. The long-standing occupation, repeated military assaults, blockade and denial of sovereignty have created conditions of systemic economic dependency and chronic poverty. These are not unintended side effects of conflict but result from deliberate and sustained policy.
We believe that economic, racial and environmental justice cannot be achieved without confronting the systems that sustain neo-colonial domination and enable economic oppression and genocide. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and with all those resisting colonial violence across the world.
Our campaigning for debt justice aims to free up resources to meet the needs of peoples in the global south. Genocidal violence not only destroys infrastructure and resources on a catastrophic scale, it also destroys the people who should benefit from economic justice.