International law is going through one of the most serious crises since the Second World War. The crimes against humanity that Israel has been committing against the Palestinian people and the enormous impunity it benefits from, demonstrate the dangers that the whole world faces in defending human rights.
This assessment is supported by a group of nine countries that announced the creation of The Hague Group, an international coalition of solidarity whose aim is to stop the genocide of the Palestinian people as a fundamental premise for the defense of human rights and international law.
The Hague Group includes Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa and was named after the city that hosts the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the main United Nations judicial body in charge of judging lawsuits against states, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), responsible for trying people accused of committing crimes of genocide, war, aggression and crimes against humanity.
The initiative is promoted by Progressive International, an organization that brings together progressive and left-wing organizations, activists and intellectuals, which was created in 2020 to resist the resurgence of authoritarian nationalism.
In announcing the formation of the group, the representatives of the nine countries emphasized their refusal to “remain passive” in the face of what they described as the “genocidal actions of Israel, the occupying power of Palestine”.
A call for international action
David Adler, general co-coordinator of Progressive International, talked to Brasil de Fato about the initiative, saying that the creation of The Hague Group intends to contribute to the basic defense of human rights and international law.
With a tone of concern, he assures “the initiative arises from seeing the ruins of the international law system. In the last 500 days, we have all seen how Israel, together with its Western allies, has engaged in totally criminal behavior, perpetrating genocide against the Palestinian population.”
He points out that the group's coordination is simply about “enforcing international law”, which includes the UN's resolutions and the decisions of international courts.
“There is a multilateral system whose fundamental principles are enshrined in the UN Charter. Yet, backed by repeated US vetoes in the Security Council, which have given it impunity, we have seen these principles repeatedly trampled underfoot by Israel's utterly criminal behavior.”
First initiatives of The Hague Group
With an open call inviting other countries to participate, the nine Global South countries presented a declaration in which they pledged to comply with the arrest warrants issued by the ICC last November against Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges that include war crimes and crimes against humanity.
They also pledged to prevent the supply or transfer to Israel of weapons, ammunition and related equipment in all cases where there is a clear risk that they could be used to commit or facilitate violations of international law or the principle of the prohibition of genocide.
In doing so, the members of the group refer to the ICJ's advisory opinion, issued last July in response to questions posed by the UN General Assembly. In that document, the ICJ concluded that Israel's settlement policies in Palestine “violate international law”, and described the Israeli occupation of Palestine as illegal, demanding the return of the land to its original residents, displaced since 1967.
In addition, the group's members condemned the sanctions with which the Trump administration has threatened the ICC over arrest warrants.
During the press conference, the group said it would take “further effective measures to end the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and to remove obstacles to the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, including the right to an independent State of Palestine.” They also called on all states to “adopt all possible actions and policies to end the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine”.
A renewed movement of non-aligned countries
Faced with recurring violations of international law, The Hague Group emphasizes the need for states to coordinate collective action against the Israeli occupation.
“It's about nothing more and nothing less than building a bloc [of countries] that defends justice,” explains Adler. With this launch, the nine members seek not only to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their actions but also to set a precedent for the defense of human rights and international justice in an increasingly fragmented world.
Trump's comeback to the White House has put the already weakened international law in an even more delicate position. His repeated attacks on the ICC, as well as his announcement that the US was withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council – of which it was not even a member – were just a demonstration of his contempt for human rights and international cooperation.
Adler notes that “Trump has intensified his attack on the system of international law. He behaves as if he were a stranger to justice, as if he could do anything without being held accountable. That's why it's up to us to rebuild, renew and strengthen the structure of the multilateral system.”
It is in this scenario, he says, that “the Progressive International is trying to coordinate a group of non-aligned countries committed to the values of justice and international law,” while emphasizing that the initiative is not an attack on Israel, but an effort to save what remains of the multilateral system.
“It is to be expected that those who defend the atrocities being committed [against Palestinians] will want to label this initiative as a direct attack on the State of Israel. But that's not what this is about. It's about trying to save what's left of the multilateral system. It is an invitation to all the countries of the Global South, especially the three continents of the South that are part of The Hague Group, to join this initiative. It's about renewing, recreating a movement of non-aligned countries for the 21st century.”
The Progressive International coordinator points out that there is a close link between the crisis of international law and the current crisis of democracy. An example of this was the mass protests against the genocide in Gaza. Despite the intense mobilizations of millions of people around the world, for something as basic as demanding an end to the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people, not only has there been little concrete action on the part of governments to stop the killings, but governments allied to Israel have dedicated themselves to repressing and persecuting these protests.
“Everything we have seen in the last 500 days of genocide reflects a true global crisis of democracy. Millions of people around the world have taken to the streets to protest against the genocide, including in countries allied to the State of Israel. However, we have also seen how these demands are not reflected in government actions, despite their self-styled democratic systems.”
In this way, the creation of The Hague Group represents hope for the reconstruction of the international law system in the 21st century. “We don't want to see the world in flames or reduced to ashes. The Hague Group represents the possibility of rebuilding the system of international law in the 21st century so that we can protect the world.”
Edited by: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
