Bagnolet, 25 July 2025 — La Via Campesina expresses its deep concern over credible reports indicating that the Handala Solidarity Boat, currently en route to Gaza, is under drone surveillance—signaling a serious and escalating threat to this peaceful civilian mission organized by international civil society.
The boat, organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, carries humanitarian aid and a delegation of international human rights defenders committed to challenging the illegal and inhumane siege imposed on the Palestinian people in Gaza. This mission confronts the weaponization of food and the denial of a people’s fundamental right to life, dignity, and sovereignty.
Among the participants is Hatem Aouini, from Tunisia, representing La Via Campesina’s Arab and North Africa region. Hatem is a member of the Million Rural Women and the landless in Tunisia, which actively defends peasants’ rights, food sovereignty, and the rights of rural communities .
Reports of provocative and targeted drone activity above the vessel raise legitimate fears of possible interception or military aggression. Any such act would constitute a clear violation of international law, including:
- The right to freedom of navigation in international waters, as protected under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);
- The protection of civilians and human rights defenders under International Humanitarian Law and the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998);
- The collective right of peoples to organize in solidarity, especially in response to systematic violations of international law.
La Via Campesina reminds all states—particularly those with influence over the occupying power—of their legal and moral responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention and international customary law to protect civilians, prevent war crimes, and oppose collective punishment.
La Via Campesina demands:
- Immediate guarantees for the safety and freedom of movement of all participants aboard the Handala Boat;
- Urgent intervention by relevant UN Special Procedures, especially the Special Rapporteurs on the situation in Palestine and on human rights defenders;
- Widespread solidarity and mobilization by social movements, legal bodies, and the media to expose and resist any threat to the vessel and its passengers.
Should any harm come to those aboard, La Via Campesina demands full legal and political accountability from the responsible parties under international law. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine and all who risk their lives defending dignity, justice, and food sovereignty. This solidarity action firmly opposes the weaponization of food, which causes mass starvation and violates the fundamental right to food. As the global movement representing peasants, small-scale farmers, and rural workers, La Via Campesina remains united in resisting all efforts to use food as a tool of oppression.