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UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ At a Colombia-hosted summit, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese urged immediate global sanctions against Israel over its military operations in Gaza, which she described as genocide. Thirty nations attended, many calling for action in compliance with international rulings. Albanese called on states to cut economic and military ties with Israel.

UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

Gaza Conflict Sanctions Debate: Quick Looks

  • UN Special Rapporteur calls Gaza war “genocide” during Colombia summit
  • Francesca Albanese urges states to cut all ties with Israel
  • 30 countries meet in Bogotá to discuss diplomatic and judicial measures
  • The conference co-hosted by Colombia and South Africa
  • Spain, Ireland, and China also participated
  • South Africa compares Gaza to apartheid-era oppression
  • Over 58,000 deaths reported in Gaza per Hamas-run health ministry
  • EU considers sanctions and import bans on Israeli settlement goods
  • U.S. sanctioned Albanese earlier this month for her stance
  • ICJ, UNGA resolutions cited in calls to isolate Israel diplomatically
UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

Deep Look: UN’s Francesca Albanese Calls for Global Sanctions Over Gaza Crisis

BOGOTÁ, ColombiaThe United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, issued an urgent call Tuesday for international action to stop what she referred to as the ongoing “genocide” in Gaza. Speaking at a high-level conference in Colombia’s capital attended by officials from 30 nations, Albanese called on governments to suspend all economic and diplomatic ties with Israel.

Albanese’s address came at the opening of a two-day summit focused on the humanitarian and political fallout from Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which intensified after a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The gathering was co-hosted by South Africa and Colombia, with representatives from nations such as Spain, Ireland, China, Qatar, and Turkey also in attendance.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel,” Albanese said, emphasizing that Israel’s economic structure “sustains the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

A Call Echoed by the Global South

While critics argue the participating nations have limited leverage to change Israeli policy, Albanese’s remarks amplified calls from the Global South for more decisive measures. South African and Colombian officials likened the situation in Gaza to apartheid-era South Africa. Albanese invoked this comparison directly, asking whether selective sanctions would have been appropriate in the 1990s or if the global community should have treated the apartheid system as criminal in its entirety.

“Would you have proposed selective sanctions on South Africa for its conduct in individual Bantustans?” she asked, calling for a full-spectrum approach.

South Africa’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri added that the unequal enforcement of international law is increasingly intolerable.

“This idea that international law can only be enforced on countries of the Global South has become unsustainable,” Phiri said.

According to the Gaza-based Health Ministry—administered by Hamas and cited by the UN—more than 58,000 people have died in Israeli military operations since the war began. While the ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, its casualty reports are widely regarded by international organizations as the most reliable.

Despite global concern, analysts like Sandra Borda from Bogotá’s Los Andes University warned that real influence over Israeli policy remains elusive.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior… so it is naive to think that this group of countries can do more,” Borda said. Still, she emphasized that the conference gives Global South countries a unified voice.

The meeting in Bogotá follows several key developments:

  • A 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) opinion ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal.
  • A UN General Assembly resolution last September demanded Israel’s military withdrawal from Palestinian territories.
  • The Hague Group, a bloc of eight countries, pledged to suspend arms sales to Israel and to honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Colombian Vice Minister Mauricio Jaramillo said the conference would explore judicial and diplomatic strategies to pressure Israel into compliance with international norms.

“This is not just about Palestine,” Jaramillo said. “It is about defending international law and the right to self-determination.”

The summit also addressed potential EU actions, including:

  • An arms embargo,
  • Individual sanctions against Israeli officials,
  • A ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements in occupied territories.

U.S. Response and Albanese’s Sanctions

Albanese, who was recently sanctioned by the United States, said the penalties reflect political efforts to silence criticism of Israel’s military conduct. In her speech, she reaffirmed her commitment to justice and legal accountability.

“International law must apply equally to all,” she stated. “Silencing those who call for justice only undermines global institutions.”



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