TWELVE countries have agreed to take concrete action against Israel to stop its genocide against the Palestinian people.
At a conference in Bogotá, which followed on from The Hague Group sanctions earlier this year, the states signed up to six measures to restrain Israel's ongoing bombardment of Palestine.
Thirty states were in attendance at the conference. All agreed that the "era of impunity must end" and issued a unified call for a ceasefire.
Of those, 12 signed up to immediately bring in the following measures.
- Prevent the provision or transfer of arms
- Prevent the transit, docking, and services of vessels at any port
- Prevent the carriage of arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment and dual use items to Israel on vessels bearing our flag
- Commence an urgent review of all public contracts
- Comply with obligations to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law
- Support universal jurisdiction mandates
The National understands that consultations with the other 18 states involved are now ongoing with a deadline of September 20 to sign up.
The 12 states who agreed to the text are Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Namibia, Oman, St Vincent and the Grenadines and South Africa.
'Momentous step forward'
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said: “These 12 states have taken a momentous step forward.
“The clock is now ticking for states — from Europe to the Arab world and beyond — to join them.”
“Together, we have begun the work of ending the era of impunity. These measures show that we will no longer allow international law to be treated as optional, or Palestinian life as disposable.”
Meanwhile, Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, executive secretary of The Hague Group, said the conference "marks a turning point".
“Not just for Palestine, but for the future of the international system,” she said.
“For decades, states — particularly in the Global South — have borne the cost of a broken international system. In Bogotá, they came together to reclaim it — not with words, but with actions."
The Hague Group
In January, nine countries gathered the Hague to discuss sanctioning the Israeli government over its conduct in Palestine.
Bolivia, Republic of Colombia, Republic of Cuba, Republic of Honduras, Malaysia, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Senegal and Republic of South Africa all agreed to three actions against the Israeli state.
They laid out their aims to:
- Uphold the arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant
- Prevent the "provision or transfer of arms" or any military kit to Israel that "might be used" to commit war crimes or genocide
- Prevent "vessels at any port" in their countries "if there is a clear risk of the vessel being used to carry military fuel and weaponry to Israel" in the same circumstances as above.
In Bogota this week, the group aimed to build on what was started – with Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Nicaragua, Oman and St Vincent and the Grenadines joining the project.
