We need to move from discourse to action to stop the genocide
Eight Global South nations formed The Hague Group to enforce ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, block weapons supplies, and prevent Israeli military vessels from docking. President Petro has positioned Colombia as a vocal advocate for Palestinian rights, severing diplomatic ties with Israel and establishing an embassy to the Palestinian state.
- Eight-nation bloc formed in The Hague in January 2025
- Over 58,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza according to health ministry
- Colombia severed diplomatic ties with Israel in May 2025
- Summit brings together roughly 30 countries plus UN officials
- Three core objectives: enforce ICC warrants, block weapons, prevent military vessels from docking
Colombia hosts the first ministerial summit of The Hague Group, bringing together 30 countries to coordinate legal, diplomatic, and economic measures against Israel's Gaza operations, which the bloc characterizes as genocide.
Colombia is hosting the first emergency ministerial summit of The Hague Group this week in Bogotá, bringing together delegations from roughly thirty countries and United Nations officials to coordinate what its members describe as concrete legal, diplomatic, and economic action against Israel's operations in Gaza. The gathering, scheduled for July 15 and 16, represents an attempt to move beyond rhetoric toward enforceable measures—a shift the eight-nation bloc, which includes Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Senegal, South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, and Colombia itself, has made its central mission since forming in The Hague last January.
The group's founding members agreed on three core objectives: enforcing International Criminal Court arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; preventing weapons shipments to Israel; and blocking vessels connected to Israel's military-industrial complex from entering their ports. Mauricio Jaramillo, Colombia's vice minister for multilateral affairs, emphasized in a phone conversation that the summit marks a critical juncture. "We need to move from discourse to action to stop the genocide," he said, adding that the gathering also signals support for the multilateral system and international law. He noted that while the core group consists of Global South nations, invitations have extended to countries from the Global North that have defended Palestinian self-determination at the United Nations—including Ireland and Spain, both of which will send delegates.
One concrete measure the group is pursuing involves blocking certain exports that allow Israel to acquire military materiel. Jaramillo described this as part of a broader pressure campaign aimed at isolation and halting what he called "the punishment of Palestinians." Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been among the world's most vocal leaders on this issue. In a recent column for The Guardian, he wrote that governments like his have a duty to confront Israel, and that the conference aims to introduce specific legal, diplomatic, and economic measures to stop what he called the destruction in Gaza and uphold the principle that no state stands above the law. Petro has positioned himself as a leading voice on the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, breaking diplomatic relations with Israel in May and establishing Colombia's first embassy to the Palestinian state in June. At the United Nations General Assembly last September, he declared: "When Gaza dies, all of humanity dies." Netanyahu responded by calling Petro antisemitic and a Hamas sympathizer.
South Africa will co-chair the summit alongside Colombia. The Ramaphosa government gained prominence in Palestinian advocacy when, just months after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and Israel's subsequent offensive, it accused Israel before the International Court of Justice of genocidal conduct in Gaza. The court has issued several orders for provisional measures to halt suffering in the territory, though these have not resulted in the sustained ceasefire the Hague Group demands. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, more than 58,000 people have died in the offensive.
The conference will feature high-level participants, including Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Albanese has emerged as one of the most forceful international voices against Israel, accusing the country of crimes against humanity including genocide. In a recent interview, she stated: "Israel commits crimes as it breathes. The only way to protect not only Palestinians but also Israelis is to stop it." Her remarks prompted the U.S. State Department, under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to announce last week that it was freezing her assets, revoking her visa, and banning her entry to the United States. The department's statement accused her of "blatant antisemitism," support for terrorism, and contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.
Other invitees include Riyad Mansour, Palestine's UN ambassador, who wept during a Security Council meeting in May while describing the hunger and violence facing Gaza's children; Thaer Ahmed, a Palestinian-American doctor who met with former President Joe Biden about the territory's hospital crisis; and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent who recently participated in the Freedom Flotilla with climate activist Greta Thunberg. Colombia's Jewish community has rejected the summit. Marcos Peckel, a community leader and spokesperson, condemned it as a gathering of countries seeking not peace but to attack "the only democracy in the Middle East fighting for its survival," and predicted the group would fade into irrelevance. For Petro and his government, however, the summit represents a turning point for international law enforcement. "Let us be protagonists together," the president urged.
Citações Notáveis
We need to move from discourse to action to stop the genocide. It's also important to send a signal of support for the multilateral system and international law.— Mauricio Jaramillo, Colombia's vice minister for multilateral affairs
Israel commits crimes as it breathes. The only way to protect not only Palestinians but also Israelis is to stop it.— Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that these eight countries are all from the Global South? Why not just the traditional powers?
Because the traditional powers are divided—the U.S. backs Israel, Europe is split. These countries have less to lose economically and diplomatically, and they're saying openly what others whisper. They're also saying: we don't accept that power excuses you from the law.
But can they actually enforce anything? What does blocking a port really do?
It's symbolic and material at once. A single port blockade won't cripple Israel. But if thirty countries coordinate—blocking weapons, freezing assets, enforcing arrest warrants—it becomes harder to ignore. It's pressure that compounds.
Petro seems personally invested in this. Is that a strength or a liability?
Both. His passion gives the movement credibility and urgency. But it also makes it easier for opponents to dismiss this as one man's crusade rather than a principled stand on international law. Netanyahu calling him antisemitic is a way of personalizing what should be institutional.
What about Albanese getting sanctioned by the U.S.? Doesn't that undermine the whole effort?
It shows how contested this space is. The U.S. is saying: speak this way about Israel and we'll punish you. But Albanese's presence at the summit signals that some countries are willing to protect that speech, to say the law matters more than Washington's approval.
So what actually happens after this summit ends?
That's the real test. Do these countries follow through on arrest warrants? Do they actually block weapons shipments? Or does it become another statement that fades? The gap between what they say and what they do will determine whether this was a turning point or theater.