Eminent children’s authors call on UK government to recognise genocide in Gaza and lift ban on Palestine Action
Current and former Children’s Laureates from the UK, Ireland and Sweden are among a group of authors, illustrators, and educators who have today called on the UK government to recognise the genocide in Gaza and lift the ban on Palestine Action.
The group is united in outrage at the plight of Gaza’s children and the restrictions on freedom to write, speak, and protest that have been enacted in the UK.
The statement has been signed by more than five hundred children’s authors, illustrators, and educators, including many of the world’s best-known writers and artists for children.
They include the current UK Children’s Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, along with former laureates Lauren Child CBE, Chris Riddell OBE, Michael Rosen, and Ireland’s current Children’s Laureate, Patricia Forde, and all six former laureates.
“As authors, illustrators, and educators, our life’s work is dedicated to protecting, inspiring, and empowering children everywhere,” said award-winning author and illustrator Chris Haughton, who co-authored the statement.
“We are horrified at the killing of over 19,000 children in Gaza, the thousands more who have been injured and orphaned, and the fact that those who have survived are being starved. We feel compelled to speak out in their defence.”
The statement calls on the UK government to recognize that what is happening is genocide and to meet its resulting legal obligations, including ending all military trade and other military cooperation with Israel.
The signatories also call on the government to lift the ban on Palestine Action.
The statement reads, “As individuals committed to defending the freedom to write, speak, and protest without fear, we view this development with particular alarm.
If we cannot speak freely about the genocide of Palestinians, if we cannot condemn those who enable it and support those who resist it, the right to freedom of expression has no meaning.”
“Using the exceptional powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 has criminalised political expression,” said international children’s rights and education advocate Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, who co-authored the statement.
“The idea that anyone who seeks to defend the rights of children in Palestine may find themselves at risk of arrest or prosecution — not for acts of violence or incitement, but for association with ideas or causes deemed controversial — represents a serious threat to free expression, protest, and dissent.
“Rather than using anti-terrorism powers to target a protest group — however disruptive its tactics may be — the Government should instead be taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide.
“Our commitment to children compels us to speak out, and we will continue to do so until every child, in Palestine and across the world, can live safely in dignity.”