Amnesty International’s Agnès Callamard condemns Israel's interception of Gaza-bound humanitarian boat
by Piyush Mathur
In a LinkedIn post dated 9 June 2025, Amnesty International's Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, condemned Israel’s interception of the Madleen, a humanitarian boat launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and bound for the Gaza Strip.
Callamard stated that the Madleen was carrying unarmed civilians and essential humanitarian supplies, aiming to breach what she termed Israel’s ‘illegal blockade’ of Gaza. She asserted that the interception violated international law and highlighted Israel’s legal obligation, as recognised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to ensure the provision of food and medicine to civilians in Gaza.
This is a clickable screenshot of a LinkedIn post, dated June 9, 2025, by Agnès Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International.
Referencing the ICJ’s binding orders to prevent genocide, Callamard called for the immediate and unconditional release of the Madleen crew members, an end to the blockade, and access for international fact-finding missions. She described the situation in Gaza as involving genocide, military occupation, and apartheid, with humanitarian workers being targeted and aid obstructed.
Callamard reiterated Amnesty International’s appeal for nation-states to take stronger action in response to the humanitarian crisis and to hold Israel accountable—whose Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has had a standing arrest warrant from the ICC since November 21, 2024.
Notably, the United States had recently sanctioned two of the three ICC judges who had signed on to the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. The reason for the exclusion of the third judge, Nicolas Guillou—a French citizen—remains unclear.
Headquartered in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, Amnesty International was founded in 1961. Callamard, a French citizen, was educated at Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Grenoble, Howard University, and New School for Social Research.
The Madleen, a British-flagged boat, has on board Greta Thunberg, the 2019 Right Livelihood Award Laureate.