On September 17, 2025, the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence held a conference titled “The Human Rights Situation in Palestine” at its foreign branch office in Geneva. The event featured the participation and speeches of prominent pro-Palestinian activists and legal experts, including Dominique Cochain, French lawyer and human rights activist; Peter Ford, former British ambassador to Bahrain and Syria and former UNRWA official; Michel Collon, Belgian writer and journalist; and Annouar El Gharbi, Executive Director of the Organization for Democracy and Human Rights in Geneva. The conference was moderated by Mahdi Mohebirad, CEO of the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence.
Dominique Cochain: The Historical Roots of Violence in Palestine and the West’s Indifference
Dominique Cochain, French lawyer and human rights activist, emphasized that the massacre of Palestinians did not begin on October 7, 2023, but has a long historical background. He referred to events such as the Sabra and Shatila massacre, 43 years ago, during which large numbers of Palestinians, including women and children, were killed.
Explaining the roots of European indifference toward the tragedy in Gaza, she emphasized that this attitude stems from old propaganda portraying Muslims as a source of trouble for European societies. According to her speech, this propaganda has made the French, when witnessing the oppression and killing of Arabs of Palestine, unconsciously find themselves against “Arabs” and thus remain indifferent to Israel’s actions.
Cochain characterized the system in the occupied territories as an apartheid regime, emphasizing that Israel’s current actions represent a deliberate continuation of its long-established policy aimed at suppressing a growing young Palestinian population.
He also spoke of his legal efforts, together with her colleagues, to support activists in Gaza and to file lawsuits against individuals with dual Israeli-French nationality who obstruct humanitarian aid deliveries. However, she noted that since Israelis do not reside in France, it is not possible to prosecute them directly—even in cases of war crimes. She mentioned lawsuits filed against French settlers in the occupied territories and companies involved in illegal construction but described the status of these cases as uncertain and their prospects of adjudication as doubtful.
Cochain criticized France’s contradictory stance—on the one hand, submitting a positive statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the 2024 advisory opinion on Palestine, while on the other hand supporting Israeli settlers in practice. She condemned Western governments for limiting their responses to mere verbal condemnations.
She further announced contact with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) concerning several members of the French Parliament who, by voting against the suspension of the EU-Israel cooperation agreement, have—according to her—participated in war crimes. Referring to France’s official refusal to recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, she expressed hope that human rights defenders and supporters of Palestine will ultimately overcome political obstacles.
Peter Ford: The Illusion of the Two-State Solution and the clear Violation of the Right to Self-Determination
Peter Ford, former British ambassador to Bahrain and Syria and a former senior UNRWA official, criticized Western policies and described the two-state solution as an illusion. He argued that there is neither real pressure nor any binding mechanism to establish an independent Palestinian state. Ford emphasized that as long as Palestinians are unable to exercise their right to self-determination as no free elections have been held since 2005, any references to statehood remains mere rhetoric and non-binding resolutions.
Annouar Gharbi: Continuing the Flotilla Missions to Break the Siege of Gaza
Annouar Gharbi, Executive Director of the Organization for Democracy and Human Rights, focused his remarks on the humanitarian flotilla missions aimed at breaking the blockade of Gaza. He reminded that since 2007, Gaza has been under complete land, air, and sea siege. Stressing the legality of these flotilla missions, he noted that over 80 lawyers physically participated in recent missions, while 400 lawyers from 60 countries supported them.
He recalled the first successful attempt to break the naval blockade in 2008, with the participation of Swiss parliamentarians. He also announced preparations for two new flotilla missions to Gaza.
Gharbi added in the current flotilla more than 2,000 participants from 80 nationalities are involved. He cited detentions, drone attacks, arsons, and the seizure of vessels such as Conscience and Madleen, yet emphasized that these missions continue despite numerous obstacles.
He also introduced new initiatives such as the Sumud Coalition, comprising 30 boats, and an operational alliance between the Freedom Coalition and the Thousand Madleens Coalition to form a unified flotilla. Gharbi concluded that while governments remain silent or complicit, ordinary people will not stay silent in the face of injustice.
Michel Collon: The Role of Western Media in Perpetuating Genocide and Distorting Reality
Michel Collon, Belgian writer and journalist, dedicated his remarks to the role of the media. He asserted that if Western media had fulfilled their duties properly, genocide would never have occurred. He attributed the continuation of the genocide to the distorted coverage of the events of October 7, explaining that Europe and the United States portrayed them as a terrorist attack by an extremist group, and by invoking Israel’s “right to self-defense,” they effectively enabled the ongoing genocide.
Collon described the October 7 operation as a military action targeting bases responsible for grave crimes against civilians—an act he deemed legitimate under the UN Charter and international law as a form of resistance. He accused Western media of spreading false information—such as claims of beheaded babies, raped women, and massacred prisoners—to conceal the truth.
He outlined the main principles of war propaganda: concealing economic motives, distorting history, demonizing the enemy, reversing the roles of victim and aggressor, and monopolizing the narrative. Collon highlighted the crucial role of independent media in exposing the truth and shifting European public opinion, and he praised the courage of journalists in Gaza who have been targeted for revealing facts.
He emphasized that growing public pressure—from citizens, artists, and athletes—has begun to expose divisions within Western governments. He called for the reinforcement of independent media, despite their current limitations and fragmentation. He also added that it is the responsibility of the present generation to ensure a humane world, not a brutal one, for those to come.
Ruba El Najjar: The Targeting of Palestinian Journalists — The Forgotten War Crime
Ruba El Najjar, a Palestinian journalist, centered her remarks on Israel’s systematic targeting of journalists, stressing that Israel deliberately kills Palestinian reporters ahead of every military offensive in order to prevent its crimes from being reported to the world.
She highlighted the martyrdom of more than 250 journalists in Gaza, describing these killings as a war crime which, if not firmly condemned, risks becoming normalized.
El Najjar called for the establishment of a special investigative committee dedicated to the massacre of journalists in Gaza and demanded that Israel be held accountable for these crimes.
She also urged international media and human rights organizations to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian journalists and to protect the freedom of the press.
Kholoud Dawoud: A Living Testimony of Displacement, Destruction, and the Erasure of Collective Memory in Gaza
At the conclusion of the session, Kholoud Dawoud, a resident of Gaza, shared her personal experiences of the suffering and devastation caused by Israel’s attacks. She spoke of the relentless bombings, the destruction of the home her grandfather had built, the killing of family members, repeated fires, forced displacement to the south, and life in tents. She emphasized that Palestinians have been rendered refugees in their own homeland, with Israel’s red-line declarations and continuous bombardments preventing the return and reconstruction of homes.
She also highlighted the psychological and social impact of these conditions on future generations, the breakdown of family bonds, and the use of killing and displacement as tools of terror to drive people from their land. She added that the destruction of shelter, identity, and family memory in Gaza is part of this very policy.
