The Hague Group: Global South states mobilise to end genocide in Gaza

On 26 September in New York, amid the high-stakes atmosphere of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, the Hague Group — consisting of Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa — convened a high-level inter-ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the UN, bringing together more than thirty governments in an effort to “halt the Gaza genocide”. Co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, the meeting sought to consolidate coordinated legal, economic and diplomatic measures against Israel. 

Crucially, the timing overlapped with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the General Assembly. While Netanyahu spoke inside the UN hall amid walkouts, protest disruptions and heightened tensions, delegations simultaneously gathered in a separate venue to forge a collective counter-strategy. As Netanyahu defended Israel’s genocidal campaign, a global coalition was already mobilising to pre-empt his narrative with a call for accountability.

The Hague Group released a co-chairs’ statement insisting that the one-year deadline set by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24 (which demanded Israel comply with an International Court of Justice advisory opinion to cease its occupation) had passed unheeded, and that Israel had escalated its actions. The group sought to move beyond rhetorical condemnation and to institutionalise concerted pressure. An event was organised immediately after the meeting at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. NGOs from around the world, including CAGE International, were invited to globalise the direct measures proposed against Israel.

Two weeks later, the Palestinian resistance, supported by international pressure from Global South states and civil societies around the globe, forced a ceasefire. This outcome highlighted the effectiveness of bold political initiatives.

Ending Zionism, Ending Genocide

The fact that the Hague Group meeting was convened by states from the Global South underscores a concrete political intent to unshackle international law from Western inertia and to demand direct action. It demonstrates that countries outside traditional Western centres are asserting agency in addressing mass atrocity. As co-chair of the group, Colombian President Gustavo Petro stressed repeatedly that “discussion won’t stop the genocide”, denounced Israel’s campaign as genocidal and called for US troops to defy orders. 

Petro went further, escalating his rhetoric by calling for the establishment of a volunteer force hosted by Colombia to assist the Palestinians in their resistance. His visa was revoked by the Trump administration hours later, a self-evident punitive measure designed to silence any concrete call to action. This dynamic illustrates that the Hague meeting was not merely symbolic, but evidence of an insurgent bloc seeking to end the complicity and impunity that have sustained the Gaza campaign through tangible actions.

To understand the stakes, one must recognise that the erasure of the Palestinian people is the natural outcome of Zionism as a colonial project. Conceived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zionism envisaged an exclusively Jewish homeland in Palestine at the expense of the indigenous Arab population. The displacement, disenfranchisement and structural suppression of Palestinians were baked into the project’s logic. The Israeli mainstream subscribes uncritically to this ideology, and its current consent to genocide is no surprise.

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In this spirit, Professor Noura Erakat, during the Hague event, insisted on the necessity of a historic “dezionification” process as the only path toward genuine Palestinian freedom. This echoed her past call for complete “denazification”, arguing that Zionists are now committing the “Holocaust” of our era. Stopping the genocide is only possible through the complete decolonisation of Palestine. Only such a process can extricate Palestinians from a system designed to contain, emasculate and ultimately dissolve their right to self-determination. In rigorous terms: one cannot liberalise a colonial regime from within its constructs; one must dismantle the colonial frame entirely.

Unprecedented Traction

The significance of the New York meeting lies not only in what was said, but in what it reflects: the Palestinian movement is achieving unprecedented global traction, and that momentum is now translating into collective action. Where once sympathy might have been confined to statements and declarations, we now see mass protests, direct action, corporate boycotts and attempts to blockade Israeli or pro-Zionist supply chains. The movement has shifted from moral outcry to strategic disruption.

Worldwide rallies have multiplied in cities across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. In many places, protesters are targeting companies complicit in Israel’s military infrastructure — defence firms, arms manufacturers, and dual-use technology providers — as part of a campaign of economic isolation. The success and rising prominence of Palestine Action, along with the strong pushback against its criminalisation, are among the clearest indicators of the decisive shift in public opinion towards supporting the complete liberation of Palestine.

What we witnessed in New York was more than a meeting or a moment of symbolism. The political analysis of this shift is clear: the Global South is reasserting moral agency; Zionism is recognised as the political motive for genocide; and the Palestinian movement is transitioning from moral appeal to strategic force. 

The current ceasefire is in itself a positive yet fragile outcome of these concerted efforts and was a key demand of the Hague Group since July. The initial relief it engendered has been replaced with renewed anger as the Zionist state — true to its nature — disregarded the agreement, continued to target civilians, slashed humanitarian aid, and refused to acknowledge the consequences of its brutality, even on its own citizens. Its constant and documented transgressions — including the breach of another ceasefire in January this year — are a reminder, and should serve as a renewed incentive.

Zionists will not back down until Palestinians are completely erased. The Hague Group meeting was a necessary and successful first step. Many more must follow.

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