The Welsh Government recognises Genocide in Gaza – now it must act

Glenn Page – Wales Government and Political Relations Manager at Amnesty International UK 

The UK Government announced this week that it would take action against Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. As Amnesty has set out, there are still many questions to answer about the scope, process, and implementation of the measures announced.

But as a start, this announcement is welcome, if not long overdue.

So too is the clarity of the new Welsh Government, with First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth naming what is happening in Gaza for what it is: genocide.

He was right to criticise the UK Government for ‘moving far too slowly’ and equally right to argue that ‘we need to see international pressure being brought to bear on the Israeli government.’

But just as the UK Government must do more, so too must the Welsh Government.

Foreign affairs and arms export licences are reserved to Westminster. The Welsh Government cannot decide whether a company is permitted to export weapons to Israel.

What it can decide, however, is who receives Welsh public money.

In 2025, Amnesty International revealed that the Welsh Government had awarded £500,000 to Senior UK, a company supplying military components directly to Israel, including components for F-35 fighter jets.

A subsequent Freedom of Information request exposed a deeper problem.

The Welsh Government confirmed that it did not undertake a human rights due diligence process before providing financial support to businesses.

Without robust checks, the Welsh Government cannot be sure that Welsh public money is not supporting companies linked to serious violations of international law.

That cannot continue. At a minimum, Welsh public money must be subject to robust human rights scrutiny, now more than ever.

As we saw earlier this month, the Welsh Government supported the Defence, Security and Resilience Cymru Summit in Newport, described by many as the Welsh Government’s arms fair.

Among the companies represented were BAE Systems and General Dynamics, companies with clear links to the supply of arms and military equipment used by Israel to commit war crimes against Palestinians.

Without a human rights framework in place, without Ministers having the tools needed to decide which companies they should and should not support, the Welsh Government risks repeating the same mistakes.

The new Welsh Government has an opportunity to draw a clear line.

It can, and should, introduce a robust and transparent human rights due diligence framework across its grants, business support and public procurement.

In addition, it should review existing support where there is a risk that companies are contributing to Israel’s illegal occupation, ongoing genocide in Gaza, apartheid against Palestinians, or other serious violations of international law.

The Scottish Government has already taken steps in the right direction.

Last year John Swinney announced a ban on arms companies which supply the IDF from getting grants and investment support.

Now that the UK Government has started to take action against Israeli settlements and the Welsh Government has recognised that a genocide is taking place against Palestinians, there can be no doubt that action is needed.

The question is whether the Welsh Government is prepared to apply the same standards to its own decisions that it rightly expects of others.

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