STATEMENT : THE HAGUE GROUP’S HIGH-LEVEL MINISTERIAL MEETING ON PALESTINE "TO HALT THE GAZA GENOCIDE"

STATEMENT AS DELIVERED

THE HAGUE GROUP’S HIGH-LEVEL MINISTERIAL MEETING ON PALESTINE

"TO HALT THE GAZA GENOCIDE"

EMPIRE BALLROOM, INTERCONTINENTAL BARCLAY, NEW YORK

Co-Chairs,

Thank you for convening this meeting.

2. We gather here today, amid ever-intensifying worries for the people of Palestine, in particular in Gaza.

3. One year ago, the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution ES-10/24, which is founded on the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, of 19 July 2024, that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful.

4. The Resolution demands, that Israel comply with the orders of the ICJ provisional measures, in the case brought by South Africa, concerning Israel’s violations of the Genocide Convention.

5. A year has passed, and Israel has utterly failed to comply. Instead, it has only escalated the scale of its brutality in Gaza, and its politics of dispossession, all over the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

6. Conditions have grown truly desperate for the people living in Gaza, due to inhumane obstructions by the Israeli forces.

7. If they are not killed by bullets or bombs, they are murdered through starvation. Acute malnutrition is becoming rife among children.

8. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the expansion of illegal settlements continues unabated, including through the announcement of their plan for complete annexation.

9. The U.N. Commission of Inquiry has officially determined, that Israel has committed four of the five genocidal acts, defined by the Genocide Convention.

10. These findings were preceded by a report, by the International Association of Genocide Scholars, who confirmed that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide, in Article II of the Genocide Convention.

Co-Chairs,

11. The findings are conclusive, and the world no longer has any excuse, to continue tolerating this tragic miscarriage of justice. We must not remain silent.

12. Malaysia calls on The Hague Group to galvanise international efforts, to isolate and pressure Israel, to stop its genocidal war in Gaza. We must do whatever we can to disrupt Israel’s capacity to prolong this genocide.

13. Not only that, but Israel has embarked on a project to destabilise the entire Middle East. Its attacks on Iran in June, and most recently its outrageous strikes on the mediating State of Qatar, have unveiled Israel’s thirst for war, and its absolute refusal to cooperate or co-exist with any State.

14. The Hague Group must gather all peace-loving countries, and call on them to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including the suspension of all existing agreements to supply military items, and dual-use items, such as technology and civilian heavy machinery.

15. In doing so, we can withhold the tools of genocide from a State that is hell-bent on perpetrating it.

16. On a related note, Malaysia is concerned by a recent report, by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Palestine, on the involvement of some Multinational Corporations, in enabling Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

17. We urge the international community to pay attention to this disclosure.

18. We may consider several avenues in order to reinforce our efforts:

1. One: Pursuing closer cooperation with other groups, dedicated to advancing the rights of the Palestinian people, such as the U.N. Committee of the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and the O.I.C; and

2. Two: Increasing our engagement with members of the Security Council, in order to push them to invoke the UNSC mandate, under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, to impose an immediate arms embargo and economic sanctions on Israel.

Co-Chairs,

19. Even individually, each of us is capable of enacting change. Since 2023, Malaysia has imposed a ban on Israel-flagged ships, and ships bound for Israel, from docking in Malaysian ports. We hope that this can set an example for like-minded countries, and that more will follow suit.

20. Particularly, we must ban the docking of vessels used to transport military fuel and weaponry to Israel.

21. But as a collective, the Hague Group has great potential to lead by inspiration. We are seeing a noticeable change around the world.

22. This week, numerous Members of the General Assembly have stepped up to recognise Palestine as a State. The global momentum is continuing to build, in favour of the people of Palestine.

23. We must seize this opportunity, galvanise our efforts and amplify our voices, to end the injustices long suffered by the Palestinians. 

24. We must save Palestine with actions, not with rhetoric. It is the only thing that will bring food to the starving, bring medicine to the injured, and bring hope to Gaza.

25. Malaysia stands ready to participate, and to support, in whatever way we can, the joint efforts of the Hague Group in advancing the Palestinian cause.

Thank you.