Colombia Will Join South Africa’s Case Against Israel in the ICC

Colombia will issue a Declaration of Intervention at the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a supporter of the South African legal initiative against Israel. This announcement was made on April 1, 2024, by the Colombian Foreign Ministry, initiated by President Gustavo Petro and Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s Foreign Minister. In its statement, Colombia aims to contribute to the defense of the Palestinian cause, specifically through a public interpretation of the Geneva Convention norms against genocide, as the Hebrew State is accused of committing this ultimate crime through its military actions in Gaza.

South Africa v. Israel case

On December 29, 2023, South Africa initiated a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, referred to as ‘Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).’ The case alleges that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and has garnered support from over 30 countries and international organizations, including Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, and Colombia. Conversely, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, all members of the UN Security Council, have opposed the lawsuit.

In its April 1, 2024, communiqué, the Colombian Foreign Ministry emphasized that “the international community cannot remain impassive when a country uses hunger as a method of war,” highlighting that this “constitutes a flagrant violation of international law that cannot be tolerated.”

Gustavo Petro and Colombia’s Israel policy shift

Since taking office in August 2022, President Gustavo Petro has adopted radical and unprecedented stances against Israel, diverging from Colombia’s historically pro-Israel policy. The Colombian left-wing administration has actively supported the Palestinian cause, notably by halting the importation of arms from Israel, despite Israel being one of the Colombian military’s major partners. In the latest developments of the diplomatic crisis between the two countries, following the UN Security Council’s adoption of a ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip on March 25, 2024, President Petro stated he would sever diplomatic ties with Israel if the country does not comply with this resolution.

So far, the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, following a Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, that took two Colombian lives, has resulted in the displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians and sparked a humanitarian crisis, exacerbating food shortages and insanitary conditions among the refugees.