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Latin American presidents use UN platform to call for end to Gaza genocide 

September 26, 2024 at 11:33 am

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers remarks before the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States on September 24, 2024 [Celal Güneş/Anadolu Agency]

Heads of state from Latin America have used their platform at the UN General Assembly to proclaim the rights of the Palestinian people and call for an end to the genocide in Gaza. The presidents of Chile, Cuba, Brazil, Bolivia, Salvador and Colombia called on “the United Nations to denounce the persecution” of the Palestinians.

Brazil´s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva began his speech by welcoming the Palestinian delegation, which took part in the opening session as an observer member of the UN for the first time. “I would like to address the Palestinian delegation in particular,” said Lula, as he referred to Palestine’s recently-acquired right to sit among the member states. Lula cited the humanitarian and security crisis in Gaza and demands for an end to the genocide.

“In Gaza and the West Bank, we are witnessing one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, and it is now spilling over dangerously into Lebanon. What began as ‘self-defence’ has turned into the collective punishment of the Palestinians,” he pointed out. “The ‘right to self-defence’ has become the ‘right for revenge’, which prevents an agreement for the release of hostages and postpones the ceasefire.”

The Brazilian president has earlier spoken out publicly about Israel’s massacres in Gaza and supported South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice, despite being declared persona non grata by Tel Aviv.

Lula was not the only Latin American president to raise the plight of the Palestinians. “From Chile, we call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian population that has already claimed [the lives of] more than 40,000 people,” said President Gabriel Boric.

The world’s youngest head of state, Boric sounded the alarm about the violations of the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. “Israel must respect international law, stop the establishment and expansion of illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories and end the massacre in Gaza and the indiscriminate attacks it has been carrying out on the civilian population,” he insisted.

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Chile’s president is known to be a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and a defender of human rights. He called on the world to respect the rights of the Palestinians and, indeed, all human beings.

“As a young, Latin American, left-wing president, I say loud and clear that human rights must always be respected everywhere and we must demand this respect regardless of the political colour of the dictator or president in power who violates them,” he explained. “We once again insist on the need to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.”

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro was given 15 minutes to address his country’s problems, but instead devoted most of his time to underscore that a genocide is being committed in Gaza and highlight Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Petro denounced the countries which have the “power to destroy humanity” and “stop the war on Gaza at the same time” but do not listen to the majority of the other heads of state who call for an end to genocide. “They do not listen to us when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza, even though we are the majority of the world’s presidents and representatives of the majority of humanity. The presidents of the countries that can destroy humanity do not listen to us.”

The Colombian leader went further, and said that no meaningful action is ever taken to stop wars. “If we ask them to stop wars and focus on the rapid transformation of the world economy to save life and the human species, they will not listen. When Gaza dies, all of humanity will die. Today we have 20,000 dead children.” Presidents, added Petro, laugh at this situation in the UN General Assembly.

“There is no more time, governments are incapable of stopping the extinction of life. Today we have to choose whether it is life or greed, whether it is humanity or capital,” said the Colombian president, referring to the genocide in Gaza,

“It is in this inequality… that we find the logic of the mass destruction unleashed by the climate crisis and the logic of the bombs dropped by a criminal like [Benjamin] Netanyahu on Gaza,” said Petro. “Netanyahu is a hero for the richest one per cent of humanity, because he is capable of showing that people destroy themselves under bombs.”

President Petro broke off diplomatic relations between Colombia and Israel in May.

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