Hague group to hold Gaza genocide meeting in Colombia July 15

The Hague Group, co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, will hold an emergency ministerial meeting in the Colombian capital of Bogota on July 15-16 to address Israel's international law violations in Palestine, according to a statement on Tuesday.

"The emergency meeting has been convened in response to Israel's ongoing and escalating violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the crime of genocide, and will focus on coordinated legal and diplomatic measures to bring them to an end," the foreign ministries of Colombia and South Africa said in a joint statement.

The statement said the meeting will focus on legal obligations of states, as outlined in the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to halt actions that sustain Israel's "illegal situation" in Palestine and support Palestinians' right to self-determination.

It said states will announce concrete measures in Bogota to enforce international law to end the genocide, and ensure justice and accountability.

The group was formed in The Hague on Jan. 31 by Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa in response to serious violations of international law in Palestine.

Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a genocidal offensive in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.