Over 30 countries convened for a two-day emergency conference in Colombia’s capital, jointly organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa, to forge a collective response to the war in Gaza. The gathering concluded on July 16th with 12 nations formally committing to implement six coordinated measures to “restrain Israel’s assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” These states, including Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicarague, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa, form the core of a rising bloc calling itself the Hague Group. Founded in January 2025, the Hague Group aims to unite countries of the Global South in pressing Israel to end the 21-month-long war in Gaza and the more general occupation of Palestinian land. Delegations from many other countries attended the Bogota summit as observers and supporters; notable participants ranged from Algeria, Brazil and China to Ireland, Spain and Qatar. This reflects a growing demand worldwide, cutting across traditional geopolitical lines, for Israel to be held accountable under international law.
Organizers of the conference framed it as a direct effort to enforce United Nations resolutions and international legal rulings. In late 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution (ES-10/24) calling on all members states to take “effective action” within one year to hold Israel accountable for its actions, following an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is unlawful. The ICJ’s opinion emphasized that nations are obligated “not to render aid or assistance” to maintain the situation created by Israel’s illegal occupation. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who co-hosted the summit, noted that the world has too often limited itself to condemning Israel’s actions without consequences; this time, he said, countries were moving from condemnation to collective action to bring it to a halt.
At the Bogota summit, the Hague Group issues a joint statement outlining six concrete steps its members will take, as follows:
- Preventing the provision or transfer of weapons, which includes arms, ammunition, military fuel, and dual-use items, to Israel,
- Banning the docking, transit, or servicing of any vessels in their ports that are suspected of carrying arms or war matériel to Israel, with violators subject to sanctions,
- Prohibiting vessels under their national flags from transporting weapons or military equipment to Israel,
- Conducting a review of all public contracts and finances to halt any support of Israel’s occupation,
- Ensuring prosecution of serious international crimes related to the conflict through “robust, impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions” at the international level,
- Supporting universal jurisdiction mandates to try alleged crimes committed in the Palestinian territories by domestic courts, if possible.
Together, these measures amount to an unprecedented multilateral campaign to isolate Israel militarily and economically over its conduct in Gaza. “We believe in protagonism, not supplication,” declared Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, executive secretary of the Hague Group, saying the initiative marked “an end to the era of impunity and the beginning of collective state action by governments of conscience.” Officials at the summit heralded the plan as the boldest international action since the Gaza war began in 2023. The 12 countries stepping forward have “taken a momentous step forward” said UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, urging that the “clock is ticking for states…to join them. Albanese, who monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, praised the participating governments for answering what she called a global moral imperative. “Palestine has changed global consciousness, drawing a clear line between those who oppose genocide and those who accept it or are part of it,” she told the conference.
The emergency summit comes amid an ever-deepening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military offensive began in October 2023, after the Hamas attacks of October 7th, and has been ongoing for 21 months since then. In that time, Israel has aerially bombed the densely-populated region, and imposed sieges that cut off basic supplies. According to Gaza health authorities, at least 58,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in 2023, which observers say consists of primarily civilians, with around 4 out of 5 casualties being non-combatants according to multiple credible estimates. Israeli forces continue to displace survivors into smaller areas and severely restrict access to food, water, and fuel, prompting UN experts to warn of deliberate “starvation” tactics. Some have even compared Israel’s operation in Gaza to genocide, whereas Israel claims the operation is still intended to target Hamas, rather than the broader Gazan population.
In this context, the bold steps announced in Bogotá are without modern precedent, but their efficacy remains uncertain. Notably, fewer than half the countries present at the summit actually signed on to the six measuresaljazeera.com. Many attending states, including larger economies and some Middle Eastern and European participants, hesitated to endorse the plan immediately. This hesitation underscores the political sensitivities at play, as well as concerns about potential repercussions. Critics question whether a relatively small coalition of mostly mid-sized economies can meaningfully influence Israel’s behavior, given the unconditional support Israel enjoys from the U.S. In fact, Israel has also dismissed the Hague Group’s campaign as misguided, with pro-Israeli commentators pointing out that many of the coalition’s member states have political motives and checkered human-rights records of their own, accusing them of singling out Israel while ignoring atrocities elsewhere. Within Israel, the measures have been characterized as an extension of hostile diplomacy: Hamas praised the Hague Group’s efforts, which Israeli observers say underscores its biased nature.
Looking ahead, the Hague Group has set a clear timeline for expanding. In their closing statement, the participating countries invited others to join the six measures by September 20th, 2025, a date chosen to align with the opening the UN General Assembly in New York. Whether this effort can coalesce into a broader international front remains to be seen. Either way, the Hague Group’s summit in Colombia has sent a resounding message that, for much of the world, the status quo of impunity in Gaza is no longer acceptable, and that new forms of collective action are on the table to confront it.