In what is being hailed as the boldest multilateral stand yet against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the collapse of international legal order, more than 25 countries are set to convene this week in Bogotá, Colombia, for a historic Emergency Ministerial Conference.
Spearheaded by Colombia and South Africa as co-chairs of The Hague Group, the conference brings together governments from across the Global South and beyond — including Algeria, Brazil, China, Spain, Indonesia, and Qatar — to move from condemnation to collective action against Israel’s devastating military campaign and the erosion of international law.
“The Bogotá conference will go down as the moment in history that states finally stood up to do the right thing,” said Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, who will deliver expert testimony to the conference. She called the emergence of The Hague Group “the most significant political development of the last 20 months.”
The high-stakes gathering comes at a moment of intensifying global outrage over the scale of destruction in Gaza. Since Israel launched its assault in October 2023, more than 146,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to estimates from humanitarian groups and local health authorities. Of those, over 70% were women and children. At least 500 medics and over 140 journalists have been killed, many while working or sheltering in hospitals and clearly marked press vehicles.
Israel’s bombardment and siege have also systematically destroyed Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, wiping out homes, hospitals, universities, water systems, and power plants. Every major hospital in the enclave has been bombed, with many converted into military bases or left as hollowed-out ruins. Schools run by the United Nations have been hit multiple times. Over 80% of Gaza’s population is now displaced, with disease and famine spreading under a total blockade.
Human rights groups and legal experts warn that Israel’s campaign — carried out with advanced weaponry, much of it supplied by the United States and Europe — amounts to the intentional destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of the assault, millions of people around the world have marched in the streets — from New York to Nairobi, London to Jakarta — demanding an end to the slaughter and calling for Israel to be held accountable for its many ongoing crimes against humanity. Yet despite this unprecedented global mobilization, most governments — particularly in the West — have remained inert, offering little more than rhetorical condemnation while continuing arms sales and diplomatic cover for Israel.
This conference aims to break that pattern of inaction.
Some participating states have already taken meaningful steps:
- Colombia severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 2024 and suspended coal exports to cut off fuel used by Israel’s power grid, declaring that it would not contribute in any way to the machinery of war.
- South Africa brought the first genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and has rallied other nations to join the legal effort.
- Malaysia and Namibia blocked arms shipments destined for Israel from docking at their ports.
- Qatar has acted as a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, helping to negotiate temporary ceasefires and humanitarian corridors under intense international pressure.
- China, in a significant regional realignment, transferred J-10 fighter jets to Iran to bolster its air defense capabilities amid escalating Israeli strikes on Iranian territory — a move widely interpreted as a strategic counter to Israel’s illegal cross-border military campaigns.
“The Palestinian genocide threatens our entire multilateral system,” said Colombia’s Vice Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir ahead of the conference. “This is not just about one people — it’s about the future of global order and whether any state can act with impunity.”
That threat grew more urgent this week when the Trump administration imposed sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, accusing her of “illegitimate and shameful efforts” to promote accountability through the International Criminal Court.
Rather than intimidate the international community, however, the move has only strengthened its resolve.
“This is a shameless and transparent attack on the fundamental principles of international justice,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard. Albanese, undeterred, is en route to Bogotá. “I am honored to travel in support of the Hague Group and its pursuit of justice and peace — grounded in rights and freedoms — that an increasing number of countries are finally embracing after decades of empty political rhetoric,” she said.
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has defended Albanese publicly and framed the conference as a defining moment. “The choice before us is stark and unforgiving,” he wrote in The Guardian. “We can either stand firm in defence of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict, or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics.”
South Africa, which brought the ICJ case, sees the stakes in existential terms. “The formation of The Hague Group marked a turning point in the global response to exceptionalism,” said South African Minister of International Relations Roland Lamola. “At Bogotá, the assembled states will send a clear message: no nation is above the law, and no crime will go unanswered.”
The Bogotá conference will take place over two days at the historic Palacio San Carlos, with closed-door deliberations and briefings from UN officials, legal scholars, and Palestinian organizations. The aim is to finalize coordinated legal and economic measures — from arms embargoes to war crimes prosecutions — before a UN-mandated one-year deadline expires.
On July 16, the conference will culminate in a mass rally in Plaza Bolívar, where thousands are expected to gather in solidarity with Gaza. The plaza, named for Simón Bolívar, Latin America’s great liberator, will serve as a symbolic launchpad for a global campaign to end impunity and uphold justice.
“For the billions of people in the Global South who rely on international law for protection, the stakes could not be higher,” Petro warned. “The Palestinian people deserve justice. The moment demands courage.”
