War crimes and other fundamental breaches of international law are not simply issues to be tackled in the countries in which they take place. The issues they raise are of such significance to humanity as a whole that every country has an obligation to ensure that justice is done. That is what the principle of universal jurisdiction is about and I am pleased that Gordon Brown has endorsed that …
Richard Burden MP last night confronted Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Labour Party Conference. Mr Burden called on him to respond to the findings of the recent UN report that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza during ‘Operation Cast Lead’. Mr Burden, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, also presented the Israeli Minister with a copy of the group’s …
Richard Burden MP, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group (BPAPPG), has welcomed the findings of a United Nations’ investigation into the conduct of Israel and Hamas during Operation Cast Lead. The 22-day long conflict claimed the lives of over 1,300 Palestinians, 352 of them children. The civilians and infrastructure of the Gaza Strip bore the brunt of Israel’s assault …
Earlier this year, in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s attack on Gaza, I led a delegation of MPs on a visit to the region to survey the impact of the conflict. The situation we encountered in Gaza was appalling. Over 1,300 Palestinians had been killed during ‘Operation Cast Lead’ and a further 5,300 injured. Over two hundred schools lay damaged or destroyed, whilst hospitals and the United …
Over 120 Members of Parliament have expressed their astonishment at the BBC’s refusal to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza Crisis Appeal. Today I tabled a motion in the House of Commons with the support of 122 MPs from across all the main political parties (see latest version here). The motion says: That this House is astonished by the refusal of the BBC and Sky to broadcast the …
The UK Parliament today debated the ongoing military attacks on Gaza.
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.