Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank, issued a bold call on Tuesday for nations worldwide to take decisive steps to stop what she described as a "genocide" in Gaza. Speaking at a conference in Colombia’s capital, attended by delegates from 30 countries, Albanese urged governments to sever ties with Israel to halt its military operations in the region.
The two-day summit, co-hosted by Colombia and South Africa, drew representatives from nations including Spain, Ireland, China, Qatar, and Turkey. Many attendees echoed Albanese’s stance, labeling Israel’s actions as genocidal. The conference focused on strategies to pressure Israel, including complying with a UN General Assembly resolution from September demanding Israel’s withdrawal from Palestinian territories and an end to arms sales.
Israel, established post-Holocaust, has fiercely rejected the genocide accusations, calling them antisemitic. The conflict, sparked by a 2023 Hamas attack, has led to over 58,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
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South Africa’s Chrispin Phiri emphasized the need to uphold international law, drawing parallels to his country’s apartheid past. “We cannot allow international law to be selectively enforced,” he said. Albanese reinforced this, urging sanctions on Israel until it exits Gaza and the West Bank, comparing the situation to apartheid-era South Africa.
Analysts, like Sandra Borda from Los Andes University, doubt the conference’s influence over Israel, given the U.S.’s limited success in altering Israeli policy. However, the event amplifies the Global South’s voice on the issue. Colombia and South Africa, which halted coal exports to Israel last year, lead the charge alongside The Hague Group, a coalition committed to cutting military ties with Israel.
The European Union is also considering measures like banning imports from Israeli settlements and imposing sanctions on officials obstructing peace. Colombia’s Vice Minister Mauricio Jaramillo stressed that the issue transcends Palestine, framing it as a defense of global legal norms and self-determination.
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