Statement by President Higgins following meeting with the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard
Date: Wed 16th Jul, 2025 | 16:57
“I was pleased to have the opportunity of meeting today with the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard. We shared a mutual concern that the world is currently experiencing a grave threat to international human rights law and the global multilateral system.
We are witnessing an attempt by the most powerful to operate with and confer impunity, in so many parts of the world, including on those who are placing the entire human rights movement and instruments of international law in extreme danger.
In our meeting, we took note of the statements made from the European Union with regard to the situation in Gaza, including access to water, food and medicines.
For statements with regard to actions on the ground to have meaning, it is essential that they are accompanied by mechanisms that will allow for observation. It is essential that the independent international media and others are given access to Gaza and to independently verify any significant changes on the ground.
The entire population of Gaza is currently facing a crisis that includes ever worse levels of acute food insecurity, with over 80% of cropland and 83% of agricultural wells having been destroyed.
It has been reported that over 700 Palestinians, mainly children, have been killed while seeking to collect water since the commencement of the current violence.
There are 20,000 mothers in Gaza who are being subjected to conditions of dehydration and malnutrition with all the consequences to their own life and those of their children. UNICEF has reported that at least 5,119 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone, while a reported 66 children have already died of malnutrition.
It is further reported that at least 1,580 medical personnel have lost their lives, with a further 180 in Israeli detention centres.
There is a dangerous impunity being granted to those responsible, who have gone on to announce in advance forcible dispossessions and relocations of the people of Gaza.
Within Israel itself, we are seeing opposition emerging to the suggestion of forcibly displacing people to what has been described as a ‘humanitarian city’ in Rafah. There can be no silence from those who believe in the importance of international human rights with regard to any proposals of such a displacement.
The forcible evacuation of Afghan refugees from Iran is likewise a fundamental breach of international law.
I welcomed the Secretary General’s recognition of Ireland’s leadership with regard to these issues, and emphasised our shared view that it is incumbent on all who believe in the vital importance of international law to make their voices heard.”
ENDS