Recognising Palestine as a state 'doesn't change anything on the ground' - Kenneth Roth (former Human Rights Watch Executive Director)

Cape Talk's Lester Kiewit chats to former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth.

 Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.

After recognition, what comes next for Palestine and the West?

That is the question Roth is asking, as more than 145 countries have recognised Palestine as a state.

Some of the world’s most influential powers, including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada, are signalling plans to follow suit, possibly as early as September.

These diplomatic moves, which Roth believes are a combination of substantive action and symbols, come as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows more dire.

ALSO READ: Gaza crisis deepens as Israel expands operations amid war crimes scrutiny 

"Symbolically, it is important because it shows the increasing diplomatic isolation of Israel. Even its closest allies are appalled by the genocide that's being carried out in Gaza, and this is one way they express it, by showing their solidarity with the Palestinian people and endorsing, in theory, the concept of a state."

- Kenneth Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

"We have to recognise that this doesn't change anything on the ground."  

- Kenneth Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

"I hope it's not symbolic action alone, but symbolic action accompanied by pressure, because as everybody knows, this is not just a humanitarian catastrophe in the sense that there was an earthquake or a tsunami, this is a man-made starvation crisis - a genocide. The only way it is going to stop is if sufficient pressure is put on the Netanyahu government to stop this callous effort to basically force two million people out of Gaza as their way of making it easier to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's going to take pressure." 

- Kenneth Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

The United Nations has warned of “famine playing out in real time,” with more than 60,000 Palestinians reportedly killed. 

Roth stresses that recognition is only the starting point.

"When I see Britain, France, the UK saying they are going to recognise the Palestinian state, my view is okay, that's a nice step, but now what? The next steps could be significant. They could, for example, revoke Israel's trade benefits with the European Union, or with Britain; they could make sure that there are no arms going to fuel the genocide whatsoever; they could make clear that they are going to back the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants...steps like this will begin to be meaningful, but they are not taking it yet so that's why I applaud the symbolic move but I'm not satisfied and I don't think anybody should be satisfied. The real question should be: Okay, Western governments, now what? What are you going to do to really stop this genocide?"

- Kenneth Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

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