Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, says that the West lost its credibility in the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine 19 months ago.

Callamard in a post on her X account on Saturday reacted to the recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron who had warned, “The West could lose credibility over Ukraine and Gaza wars.”

“Seriously? Credibility was lost 19 months ago, the result of the West complicity or inaction to Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” Callamard wrote in response to Macron.

“And it will take far more than words for it to be restored,” she added.

Callamard also said that restoration of credibility demands strong actions to halt Israel’s genocide, humanitarian blockade and starvation, and unlawful occupation, advising the West to take six steps to restore its credibility.

Recognizing and naming the crime of genocide and ending all weapons transfers to Israel, whether indirect or small they are, ending the European Union-Israel agreement, and implementing the decision made by the International Court of Justice (I.C.J.) over Israel’s unlawful military occupation, including through sanctions and divestment are three steps suggested by Callamard.

Ensuring that arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) are implemented, using universal and domestic jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute all those responsible for war crimes, including binational and ensuring the release of the hostages held by Hamas and all Palestinians unlawfully detained by Israel are the other necessary measures recommended by the secretary general of Amnesty International.

On November 21, 2024, the UN-backed ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The warrants had been sought by the I.C.C. prosecutor Karim Khan in May that year.

Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 54,381 Palestinians and wounded 124,054, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

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