28 February 2024. In the article Alexis Deswaef, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Vice-President and speaker at the colloquium, was reported to have said "What is happening in Gaza is "clearly genocide" and emphasized that more civilians, women, and children have been killed than in any other known genocide." Upon reading the article Mr. Deswaef reported having never said or implied that more civilians, women, and children have been killed in Gaza than in any other known genocide. He declared that this assertion was senseless factually and historically considering such examples as the Holocaust, the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda or the Armenian genocide.
The original article stood as a misrepresentation of Mr. Deswaef and FIDH’s positions. Several Turkish media outlets picked it up. The article has since then been modified following FIDH’s complaint to Anadolu Agency.
Mr. Deswaef and FIDH rely solely on impartial, factual, and judicial analysis. The events in Gaza are considered an unfolding genocide by FIDH, and its severity, based on the number of civilian casualties is staggering. It is not, however, to be put in direct comparison with every other genocide, some of which have undisputedly and tragically killed more.
Watch Alexis Deswaef speech at the EU Parliament (1:40 - 24:10): Colloquium "Gaza: the legal and political implications of the genocide qualification"