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The Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders (FIDH-OMCT), along with the
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) and the
undersigned organisations, urge for an immediate end of Israel’s
genocide of the Palestinian people, demand unrestricted humanitarian aid
into Gaza, and call for the unconditional release of all FFC
volunteers.
12 June 2025 -
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC), its
members and allies in feminist and social justice movements worldwide,
condemn the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for ramming and intercepting
the Madleen, and detaining the humanitarians on board. We see this as a
continued escalation of the genocide, as Israel continues to block humanitarian aid and force the starvation of the people of Gaza.
We understand the blockade not as an isolated violation, but as part of
a premeditated act of genocide, occupation, and patriarchal state
violence.
The brave women and all human rights defenders on board of the
UK-flagged humanitarian ship ‘Madleen’, have acted on behalf of the
international community and all people of conscience worldwide; where
powerful governments failed to act and continue to enable the genocide,
war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The attack on the Madleen is
de-facto a threat to the international community to stay silently
complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. The Freedom
Flotilla Coalition (FFC) did not sail alone—it sailed in the wake of a
long and courageous legacy of humanitarian missions that sought to break
the siege on Gaza. The Madleen’s route went from international waters
to Palestinian waters, and Israel has no jurisdiction over their route.
We recognise the IOF’s interception of the Madleen and detention of its crew in international waters as only the latest attack on humanitarians and activists, which precede the launch of the Freedom Flotilla in 2010, when Israel killed and injured humanitarians in an attack on international waters. Each of Israel’s attacks on humanitarians are egregious and unwarranted violations of international humanitarian law.
If any government deigns to consider itself a champion of human
rights, they too must make every effort to open unrestricted
humanitarian corridors. There is growing support to end the use of the UN Security Council veto in mass atrocity situations: governments must take action to stop the continuation of US vetos to ceasefire resolutions, halt all weapon exports to Israel, break the humanitarian barricade in Gaza and uphold their obligations under the Genocide Convention.
We stand with all those resisting the genocide and the dehumanisation
and destruction of Palestinian life. The Israeli genocide in Gaza and
its brutal violence in the West Bank are not isolated events: they are a
terrifying indication of a new world order of complete impunity and
destruction of all international frameworks, of the right to life
itself. We uphold International Humanitarian Law and International Human
Rights Law, not as distant legal frameworks, but as tools for
collective survival.
We further emphasise that we, the WHRD-IC and the signatories, stand
with the Palestinian people and call for an end to this genocide. Our freedom is incomplete
until Palestinians are free. Breaking the blockade and ending the
genocide is at the core of our feminist struggle for life and
liberation. The full, safe, and unrestricted flow of aid demands
accountability, defies occupation and breaks the machinery of genocide.
Our demands:
We call on everyone to keep fighting and pushing for:
- An immediate end to the genocide, including by applying political, economic and cultural pressure on Israel,
- The immediate and unconditional release of the remaining 8 detained FFC activists and the release of the 10,400 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, and a halt to all attacks on civilian missions seeking to deliver aid and challenge the illegal blockade.
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Continue protesting, lobbying and pressuring states to uphold the
international agreements and conventions they have signed. Without this
accountability, the impunity will continue fueling daily massacres and
utter destruction.
We call on all governments, particularly the signatories of UN Human Rights Charters and the Genocide Convention to:
- Take immediate action to hold the
Israeli war criminals accountable, including the enactment of standing
arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the government and military
personnel at all ranks.
- Pressure Israel for the release of the
activists, halt all weapon exports to the State of Israel, and publicly
support humanitarian efforts toward Gaza and demand an end to the
ongoing genocide.
- Initiate, support, sponsor, and protect
humanitarian ships seeking to break the siege and bring life-saving
needs to the Gazan population.
- Honor your commitment to Human Rights and hold the Israeli State accountable for all its war crimes.
We call on the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the remaining 8 detained FFC activists and to release the 10,400 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails,
to end the blockade of Gaza and comply with international humanitarian
law by allowing safe, direct, and unrestricted access to aid, including
guaranteed freedom of operation for UNRWA and other aid, development and
humanitarian agencies, along with the immediate closure of the GHF
(Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) that serves as a displacement tool and
death trap under the guise of humanitarian aid.
We call on the United Nations and relevant human rights bodies,
including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights and Special Procedure mandate-holders, to continue to monitor the
situation closely and take immediate and concrete steps to ensure
accountability for violations of international law and obstruction of
aid.
We call on feminist, women’s rights and human rights movements globally
to uplift the Palestinian struggle, amplify the voices and resistance
of Palestinian communities, and expose the violence of occupation,
genocide and siege.
Real allies are loud allies: amplify, lobby, push and take action in any way possible.
We invite readers and signatories to continue pressuring all relevant governments
to ensure the unconditional release of all hostages on the Madleen Crew
as requested by the FFC. You are also invited to send this statement to
the 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council and the 15 members of the UN Security Council.
We also invite you to amplify, support and keep an eye on The Caravane Al-Soumoud that has begun its journey by land, and that must be allowed to pass by Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, and onward to Gaza.
To endorse this statement, click here.
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