Kalamar: UN member states have made no effort to stop the genocide in Gaza.

Washington - "Al-Quds" dot com - Saeed Arikat

With the convening of the United Nations General Assembly, prominent voices from the global civil society - including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Hague Group - gathered on Thursday to urge the international community to "have the courage" to confront Israel's ongoing violations.

The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, presented a recently released report by the organization, naming companies complicit in assisting Israel in committing genocide in Gaza and inciting it, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Palantir Technologies, and Hyundai HD.

She emphasized that Amnesty International is following a path previously taken by many organizations, which aims to target the "global political economy of repression."

Callamard stated in response to a journalist's question that there is a need to halt the global political economy that fuels Israel's crimes, calling on civil society to mobilize to stop the "addiction of corporations, cities, and universities to profit," which she described as "an addiction to genocide, occupation, and apartheid."

On September 18, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and urging all countries to take effective action against Israel's violations of international law, including accountability, sanctions, and halting support, within one year, with full implementation of the interim measures taken by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case against Israel.

Each NGO presented the steps it has taken to document Israel's occupation, highlighting ongoing campaigns aimed at mobilizing efforts and accountability.

In addition to calling on member states to boycott companies linked to Israel's repression of Palestinians, Callamard echoed the committee's demand for the international community to do more.

Callamard expressed frustration: "Yes, they have excelled at issuing strong statements. Where are the damn actions? Trade continued. Economic relations continued. They are trying to appease the masses, because the last thing they want to see is the public in the streets. But, frankly, they have done nothing at all. They have done nothing to ensure that their trade relations with Israel stop." She affirmed that Palestine is a scientific issue, not just a Palestinian one.

Callamard noted that it is appropriate for much focus to be placed on the United States and Europe, given their relations with Israel, but she added that the Arab world, Latin America, and Asia also have a role to play.

Callamard warned: "We are all facing a real existential crisis, which is the potential demise of international law that has brought us together for the past eighty years. Over the past twenty-four months, and perhaps even before that, we have witnessed a real turning point. So, it goes beyond the United Nations; it is about our identity as a global community, who we aspire to be, and what we wish to offer our children and grandchildren."

For her part, the Executive Secretary of the Hague Group, Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, acknowledged that the past two years have shown how the existing multilateral and legal institutions "have not been sufficient to stop genocide."

She stated that the only solution is for all UN members to unite as they did in the Hague Group, a coalition of countries committed to "coordinated legal and diplomatic measures" in defense of international law and solidarity with the people of Palestine.