ICDR Condemns Hamas Atrocities and Calls for the Immediate and Unconditional Release of All Hamas Hostages
Prague, Forum 2000 Conference
October 17, 2023
We, the undersigned members of the International Coalition for Democratic Renewal, call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization, during Hamas’ brutal attack on innocent civilians in Israel on October 7, 2023.
In addition to massacring over 1,400 people, Hamas violently abducted over 200 individuals including infants and young children, the disabled, and the elderly, including Holocaust survivors, into Gaza. They are currently being held hostage without any outside communication. The majority of the hostages are civilians and include nationals of dozens of countries around the world, and people of all races and religions. Among those taken hostage, many were critically injured and are in dire need of medical care. Video footage, photographic evidence and witness testimony indicate that many hostages, including children, have been tortured and subject to other cruel, inhuman and degrading crimes by Hamas terrorists. Those being held captive by Hamas risk facing evermore unspeakable horrors with every passing minute.
The taking of hostages by Hamas is a flagrant violation of international human rights law and humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime and crimes against humanity. International law requires that Hamas immediately provide all necessary means to identify those being held hostage, to allow for medical treatment, not to engage in their torture and ill-treatment, and to respect the dignity of remains by not desecrating bodies and returning them for burial. We demand that these norms be respected.
Innocent individuals ought not be used as bargaining chips for any cause or purpose. All hostages -- especially the infants, children, mothers and elderly taken from their homes -- must be safely returned to their loved ones.
The countries and organizations supporting Hamas, including NATO Member Turkey and NATO ally Qatar, must be held accountable for their complicity in the committed atrocities and ongoing crime of hostage-taking. We call on them to end their support for Hamas and to exercise maximum pressure for the release of their prisoners.
As President Zelensky put it in condemning these crimes: “Terror should have no place in the world, because it is always a crime, not just against a specific country or this terror’s victims, but against humanity in general and our entire world.”
Hamas must release all hostages immediately.
Signatories as of October 17, 2023:
- Tutu Alicante
- Abdulwahab Alkebsi
- Andreas Bummel
- Aisha Dabo
- Monica Dias
- Edipcia Dubón
- Evan Firoozi
- Paul Flather
- Manuela Franco
- Carl Gershman
- Maiko Ichihara
- Dolkun Isa
- Erick Izaguirre
- Ramin Jahanbegloo
- Memory Kadau
- Tinatin Khidasheli
- Jakub Klepal
- Péter Krekó
- Batu Kutelia
- Sook Jong Lee
- Jessica Ludwig
- Jean Jacques Lumumba Luviya
- Agon Maliqi
- Anar Mammadli
- Maria Marín Vázquez
- Nyaradzo Mashayamombe
- Ucha Nanuashvili
- Andrea Ngombet
- Martin Palouš
- Babutsa Pataraia
- Vesna Pusic
- Rafaela Requesens
- Niranjan Sahoo
- Andrei Sannikov
- Vasil Sikharulidze
- Brandon Silver
- Marek Svoboda
- Nicolas Tenzer
- Barbara von Ow-Freytag
- Alissa Wahid
- Qiang Xiao
- Michael Zantovsky
- Misha Zelinsky
