UN’s Albanese calls out ‘appalling’ EU failure to sanction Israel as 32-nation summit in Bogota kicks off
State representatives attend the opening conference of The Hague Group summit in Bogota, 15 July 2025 (Progressive International)
State representatives attend the opening conference of The Hague Group summit in Bogota, 15 July 2025
Laura Gamba in Bogota and Sondos Asem in London report in Middle East Eye:
Over 30 states from around the world convened in Bogota on Tuesday for a two-day summit to declare “concrete measures against Israel’s violations of international law”.
The “emergency summit” is co-hosted by the governments of Colombia and South Africa as co-chairs of The Hague Group, to coordinate diplomatic and legal action to counter what they describe as “a climate of impunity” enabled by Israel and its powerful allies.
The Hague Group is a bloc of currently eight states, launched on 31 January in the eponymous Dutch city with the stated goal of holding Israel accountable under international law.
The group is working on a joint declaration outlining a series of proposed actions to be announced at the end of the conference on Wednesday.
At the opening on Tuesday, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, denounced the failure of the international system to protect the Palestinian people.
“For too long, international law has been treated as optional – applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful,” Albanese said. “This double standard has eroded the very foundations of the legal order. That era must end. The law must either be universal, or it will cease to mean anything at all. No one can afford this selective approach.”
Albanese also addressed the sanctions imposed against her last week by the US. “These attacks shall not be seen as against me personally. They are a warning to everyone who dares defend international justice and freedom. This is not about me or any other single individuals, but about justice for the Palestinian people at the most critical juncture in their history.”