News Desk :
More than 20 countries, including Bangladesh, are set to gather in Bogota next week to announce coordinated legal, diplomatic, and economic measures in response to what they view as serious violations of international law by Israel, diplomatic sources told Middle East Eye (MEE).
The two-day “emergency summit”, scheduled for 15-16 July, will be co-hosted by Colombia and South Africa under the banner of The Hague Group – a bloc of countries formed to advance international accountability.
The group, established in January 2024 in The Hague, seeks to address what its members describe as a growing climate of impunity surrounding Israel’s actions in Gaza and the broader erosion of international legal norms.
Bangladesh, along with other states such as Algeria, Brazil, Chile, China, Ireland, Spain, and Turkey, is expected to take part in the summit. Their collective objective is to transition from statements of condemnation to tangible international measures.
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Roland Lamola said the Bogota conference would reflect the same determination that led to the group’s founding. “No country should be above the law. The world must act decisively to uphold the principles of international justice,” he told MEE.
Colombia’s Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs, Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, also underscored the summit’s urgency. “The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is not only a regional tragedy, but a threat to the entire international system.
In Bogota, we will work collectively to move from rhetoric to action.”
Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has drawn increasing international scrutiny, with over 57,000 Palestinians reported killed and widespread displacement and devastation across the enclave. Several human rights experts and institutions have raised concerns about potential violations of the Genocide Convention.
Founding members of The Hague Group include Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa. Some members have already taken individual measures-South Africa initiated legal proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), while others like Namibia and Malaysia blocked arms shipments to Israel. Colombia, for its part, severed diplomatic relations with the Israeli government.
The Bogota summit aims to build on these actions and establish a more coordinated approach. According to Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the group’s coordinator, the initiative was formed partly in response to what it sees as a failure by some countries to uphold binding international obligations, including those related to recent arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli officials.
High-level participants at the summit will include several United Nations special rapporteurs and officials, including Francesca Albanese (Palestine), Philippe Lazzarini (UNRWA), Tlaleng Mofokeng (Right to Health), Laura Nyirinkindi (Discrimination Against Women and Girls), and Andres Macias Tolosa (Mercenaries).
For Bangladesh, participation in the Bogota summit reflects a growing commitment to upholding international humanitarian and legal standards, and an active role in the evolving global discourse on accountability and justice.
