GABORONE: Director of Ditshwanelo – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, Alice Mogwe, has condemned what she described as the world’s “hypocritical double standards” in dealing with Israel’s ongoing assault on Palestinians, calling for an immediate end to the blockade of Gaza and permanent ceasefire.

Mogwe was speaking at a well-attended march in Gaborone on Saturday, held in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing war that has left tens of thousands dead. She cited figures showing that as of August 14, 2025, more than 62,000 Palestinians had been killed since October 2023, with children and civilians making up a large proportion of the victims.

“Between 2 March and 18 May this year, there was a total blockade by Israel on Gaza, including food and humanitarian aid. This has fuelled malnutrition and disease. Since then, only a trickle of aid has been allowed in, with some countries resorting to air drops that have tragically killed or injured people. Palestinians are even shot while trying to reach aid,” she said.

Mogwe stressed that the blockade amounted to a deliberate policy of starvation and collective punishment, exacerbated by international arms sales to Israel.
⁠“We call for an end to double standards and hypocritical behaviour, and an end to the arms trade which fuels the ongoing genocide and starvation in Palestine,” she declared, drawing applause from the crowd.

She also reminded the gathering of Africa’s shared history of oppression, citing Namibia’s criticism of Germany for failing to atone for the genocide it committed during colonial rule, and Nelson Mandela’s assertion that “our freedom will be incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people.”

According to Mogwe, Western governments’ backing of Israel’s military campaign—while selling arms that are used in the conflict—contradicts their stated commitments to human rights. She urged Botswana and the wider African continent to stand firmly on the side of justice.

“In southern Africa, global sanctions were once used in solidarity against apartheid. Without justice, there can never be peace. The same principle applies today in Palestine,” she said.

The march drew civil society groups, student activists, and ordinary Batswana carrying placards demanding an end to what they called “genocide and hypocrisy.”

Mogwe closed her remarks with a call for “a just peace, accountability for past and current crimes, and respect for the dignity and self-determination of the Palestinian people.”