10/06/2025
Statement on the Ongoing Genocide in Gaza and the Unlawful Detention of the Madleen Crew
We issue this statement with grave urgency and moral clarity. Rooted in the legacy of our own collective suffering—from the genocide of Armenians in 1915 to the recent ethnic cleansing in Artsakh—we cannot remain silent as the people of Gaza endure what can only be described as an unfolding genocide, perpetrated in full view of the international community.
Over the past months, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has escalated into a systematic assault on life, dignity, and survival. This campaign is marked by the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure—hospitals, schools, refugee shelters, and UN-run facilities—and the total blockade of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, fuel, and water. These acts violate fundamental tenets of international humanitarian and human rights law, including:
❗️The Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the targeting of civilians and obligates the occupying power to ensure the well-being of the civilian population;
❗️The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), under which the intentional infliction of conditions calculated to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group constitutes genocide;
❗️The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which defines and criminalizes war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
What we are witnessing in Gaza is a genocide of attrition—through starvation, siege, displacement, and indiscriminate violence.
This past week, the international legal crisis deepened further with the Israeli Navy’s illegal interdiction and capture of the Madleen in international waters - a civilian humanitarian vessel part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which sought to deliver lifesaving aid to besieged communities in Gaza and break the illegal blockade.
The Madleen was carrying food, water purifiers, and medical supplies—clearly marked and intended solely for civilian relief. Its crew, consisting of 12 peaceful activists and human rights defenders, was forcibly abducted from international waters on 9 June, 2025, and brought into Israel against their will.
As confirmed by the FFC, at the moment 4 of the 12 abducted from international waters have been deported, while 8 remain unlawfully detained.
This act follows previous instances in which Israeli forces have bombed or destroyed humanitarian convoys and vessels, clearly identifiable under international maritime and humanitarian law.
Under international maritime law, including the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994), the forcible seizure of a humanitarian vessel in international waters constitutes a grave breach—particularly when the vessel poses no threat and is engaged in relief operations protected under the Geneva Conventions.
The unlawful detention of the peaceful crew of Madleen, is not only a gross violation of the norms of international human rights and humanitarian law —it is a direct attack on the global humanitarian system and those who risk their safety to uphold it.
The precedent is deeply alarming. The international community’s failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable for the 2023 blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the subsequent ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Armenians from Artsakh has already emboldened authoritarian actors. Today, that failure reverberates in Gaza, where lawlessness is normalized and impunity is entrenched.
We therefore issue the following urgent calls to action:
1️⃣An immediate end to the genocide and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, and an end to all military operations targeting civilians and essential infrastructure.
2️⃣The immediate and unconditional release of 8 members of the crew of Madleen who remain unlawfully detained by the State of Israel.
3️⃣The swift and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza under the protection of the United Nations and in accordance with international humanitarian law.
4️⃣The initiation of formal legal proceedings by the International Criminal Court and relevant UN mechanisms to investigate and prosecute those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza.
5️⃣The implementation of targeted sanctions, arms embargoes, and diplomatic measures against the State of Israel until full compliance with international law is restored.
Silence is complicity. The world cannot claim to uphold human rights and international order while allowing the destruction of an entire people under siege.
We, Armenians who know the pain of genocide and the betrayal of international silence, stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine. Their survival is not a political question—it is a moral imperative and a legal obligation.
The international order will be judged not by its declarations, but by its actions.
