Gaborone, Botswana — 13 September 2025

DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights has renewed its call for an end to the blockade on Gaza, aligning with international efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged territory.

Speaking at a solidarity gathering in Gaborone, Director Alice Mogwe voiced support for the Global Sumud Flotilla, a coordinated fleet of over 50 ships carrying activists from 44 countries, currently en route to Gaza.

“The blockade is collective punishment and a violation of international law,” Mogwe said, referencing the 17-year siege imposed under Israeli occupation.

She described the flotilla’s mission as a peaceful, lawful effort to break the blockade and deliver life-saving aid to Palestinians facing starvation.

The gathering follows a previous demonstration held on 16 August, where DITSHWANELO called for an end to double standards in international diplomacy and for accountability in the face of alleged war crimes.

Mogwe cited recent remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who accused Israel of committing “war crime upon war crime” amid global inaction.

The event also featured a series of messages and speeches from local and international voices, including:

• A message from Global Sumud Flotilla participant Dr. Fathima Hendricks
• A message from Al Jazeera journalist Fahmida Miller, reporting from aboard the flotilla
• A speech by Mr. Ziyaad Saloojee of the Botswana Muslim Association
• Remarks by Mr. Munawar Hamdani from Voice For Palestine Botswana
• A speech by Dr. Motsumi Marobela of International Socialists Botswana
• A statement from Dr. Imtiaz Suliman of Gift of the Givers, read by Ms. Fatema Khan
• A speech and prayer by Mr. Ahmed Ali Hussain from the Zahraa Naaz Children’s Fund

DITSHWANELO urged the international community to:

•       Protect human rights defenders aboard the flotilla

•       Establish a safe and continuous humanitarian corridor for food and medicine

•       Halt weapons transfers that are “fuelling the genocide”

•       Implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire

The Gaborone event echoed growing global protests. Italian dockworkers have threatened to halt shipments to Israel if contact is lost with the flotilla, while Dutch medical institutions have offered to treat injured children from Gaza pending government approval.

Activists have also called on FIFA to suspend Israel from international competition, citing precedent set during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We too, in Gaborone, are global citizens,” Mogwe said. “We cannot remain silent in the face of genocide, deliberate starvation, and human-induced famine.”

DITSHWANELO’s statement adds Botswana’s voice to a rising chorus of civil society groups demanding urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The march was organized by DITSHWANELO, the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, International Socialists Botswana, Voices of Palestine, and Zahraa-Naaz Children’s Fund to highlight ongoing humanitarian concerns in Gaza and the West Bank.