Stop the Use of Starvation as a Genocidal Weapon! Uphold the Right to Food and Freedom of the Palestinian People!
Jul 01, 2025By Right to Food Campaign
We, the participants of the Right to Food Campaign’s National Convention, register our profound outrage and condemnation of the brutal use of starvation as a weapon of war by the Israeli government in Gaza. We are equally alarmed by the ongoing complicity of the Indian government in these and other humanitarian crimes occurring in the region.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with intensified military operations resulting in over 400 civilian deaths and countless injuries, particularly among children. The relentless blockade has severely restricted access to essential aid, prompting the United Nations to issue dire warnings of an impending famine. Alarmingly, more than 930,000 children are now at imminent risk of death due to severe malnutrition and starvation.The situation is further compounded by the declaration of a polio epidemic by the Health Ministry in Gaza, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian intervention.
We recognize that the denial of food and health care to more than two million Palestinians, particularly children, is not only a grave violation of international humanitarian law but also a profound infringement on basic human rights. The right to food and nutrition is fundamental to all human beings, and its deliberate denial constitutes a crime against humanity. Such actions undermine the very essence of human dignity and violate the principles enshrined in international human rights treaties.
During the last 20 months, Palestinians in Gaza have been relentlessly bombed, displaced, and deprived of essential necessities such as shelter, health care, clean water, and education. This inhuman siege amounts to using food as a weapon of war and makes a mockery of international law, the Geneva Conventions, and basic human values.
In light of these circumstances, we call for an immediate ceasefire and a cessation of all cooperation with the state of Israel. We express our deep disappointment that the Government of India has failed to take meaningful action to halt these atrocities. Instead, it has maintained its role as a steadfast ally of the Israeli government—supporting Indian companies that
manufacture military equipment for Israel, replacing Palestinian workers with Indian labourers, and suppressing protests against Israeli actions within India. According to a recent article in Haaretz, “India has become almost as important a crutch to Israel as the US.”
We affirm that the International Court of Justice defines complicity with genocide as any positive action taken to assist the perpetrators. This accurately reflects the current stance of the Indian government. Despite the government’s efforts to stifle protests and expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people, numerous demonstrations have taken place across India in recent months, and we hope for more in the future.
We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine in their struggle for justice. We appeal to the Government of India to end all ties with Israel for the time being and urge the Indian public to cease all academic, commercial, cultural, or other ties with Israel, and to take to the streets on this issue. The use of starvation and disease as instruments of war is utterly unacceptable.
The Right to Food Campaign of India reaffirms its commitment to the Right to Food and the freedom of the Palestinian people.
(This resolution was passed on the 26th of May 2025)