(3)Bogota - Colombian capital - Conference - Francesca Albanez - Response to sanctions

Bogotá, Colombia

Bogotá will host an emergency ministerial meeting of the Hague Group

on the genocide in Gaza, today, Tuesday, and tomorrow,

to discuss legal and diplomatic measures to halt the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and promote respect for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The conference, which begins today, Tuesday, discussed practical steps to implement a UN General Assembly resolution calling on member states to take concrete measures to push Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories, in accordance with the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.

The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this meeting comes "in response to the ongoing and escalating violations of international law,

committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the crime of genocide."

In this context, the Colombian president called in an article published in The Guardian for the protection of the global legal system, saying: "Either we defend the principles that prohibit wars, or we witness the collapse of the international system under the pressure of brutal forces."

Albanese praises Bogotá conference on Palestine: The most important political development in the past 20 months

The UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, pledged to continue her work, considering that international law has long been treated as a selective option imposed on the weak and ignored by the powerful.

The UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, described the conference held in Bogotá, Colombia, with the participation of 30 countries as "the most important political development in the past 20 months," noting that the meeting comes at an "existential moment" for both the Palestinian and Israeli people.

Albanese defies US sanctions

Despite the sanctions imposed on her by the US State Department last week, Francesca Albanese pledged to continue her work, stressing that

"These attacks are not against me personally, but rather a message of intimidation directed at all those who stand up for international justice."

She continued: "But we cannot remain silent—and I know I am not alone. This is not about me, but about justice for the Palestinian people at a crucial moment in their history."

Albanese added:

"International law has long been treated as a selective option, imposed on the weak and overridden by the powerful.

It is time to end this hypocrisy and restore the authority of the law," she emphasized, stressing that

"The world will hold us all accountable for our actions at this moment—will we

choose silence or will we stand up for human dignity?"

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