Dear Supporter,

There is a real danger that the best chance for accountability and justice for civilians in Gaza and Israel could be lost in the next few days - we need as many people as possible to email David Miliband right now to prevent this from happening.

An independent UN fact-finding mission into the Gaza conflict has just published its findings. This major report outlines powerful evidence of war crimes and other violations of international law on both sides, consistent with the results of Amnesty's own investigations. And the UK Government is reviewing it right now.

The UN Human Rights Council will debate the report next Tuesday (29 September), when a vote will be taken on how its recommendations should be acted upon.

Alarmingly, we understand that the UK Government (a member of the council) is not planning to support key recommendations, which Amnesty believe offer the best chance of ensuring justice and accountability, as a well as a deterrent to future conflicts. Instead, they appear to be taking a lead from the US Government in dismissing the findings.

War criminals are literally getting away with murder. Act now

Dear David Miliband - UK Foreign Secretary,

As you are aware, the UN-mandated International Independent Fact Finding Mission, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, has published its findings on the 22-day conflict in Gaza and southern Israel in December 2008-January 2009. The carefully argued report, which is consistent with the findings of Amnesty International, concludes that both the Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups committed grave violations of international law including war crimes and, possibly, crimes against humanity.

We appreciate that your government is reviewing this major report, and hope that you will welcome the report and support its recommendations. Amnesty International is convinced that ending prolonged impunity for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by the Israeli and the Palestinian side is essential: not only for human rights and justice, but also if long term peace and security is to be achieved in the Middle East. As a member of the Human Rights Council, we seek the UK Governments support to make that happen by ensuring that Justice Goldstone's recommendations are acted upon. Simply put, they offer the best hope for justice and accountability in the Middle East conflict.

I urge the UK government to spare no efforts to ensure that effective action is taken to address accountability and undertake the following:

* Support all recommendations of the UN Fact Finding Mission addressed to the UN Human Rights Council, including that the Council endorses all recommendations in the UN Mission's report, requests the UN Secretary-General to convey the Fact-Finding Mission's report to the UN Security Council as soon as possible and submits the report to the General Assembly and the Prosecutor of the ICC;

* Support all recommendations of the UN Fact Finding Mission addressed to the Security Council including: that the Security Council requires Israel to launch ''investigations that are independent and in conformity with international standards, into the serious violations of International Humanitarian and International Human Rights Law reported by the Mission and any other serious allegations that might come to its attention. and prosecute such violations'' ; that the authorities in Gaza undertake domestic proceedings to that effect; that the Security Council establishes a committee of experts to monitor and report to the Security Council on any such domestic proceedings instituted by the parties concerned; and that the Security Council refers the situation in Gaza to the Prosecutor of the ICC for investigation and prosecution if it finds that the Israeli or the Palestinian side have failed to carry out, within a set period of time, good faith investigations that meet internati!
onal standards into the above violations.

* To ensure that the General Assembly requests the Security Council to report to the Assembly on the measures taken by Israel and the authorities in Gaza to establish accountability for the above violations in relation to those outlined in the report and '' any other relevant facts in the context of the military operations in Gaza'' ; and that the General Assembly establishes a fund to be used to provide full reparations to victims on both sides who suffered loss or damage as a result of unlawful acts;

* Ensure universal jurisdiction over conduct amounting to war crimes or crimes against humanity, as part of the shared responsibility of the international community to investigate and prosecute such crimes, to open criminal investigations in UK courts and, where there is sufficient admissible evidence of the commission of such crimes in Gaza or Israel, to prosecute the suspects.

I greatly appreciate your consideration of these concerns.

Sincerely,