Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for an end to the ongoing Israeli genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip, labeling the regime's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "war criminal."
Petro made the remarks during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, as he criticized Netanyahu for continuing the bombardment of 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 Netanyahu on Gaza,” Petro said.
“When Gaza dies, all of humanity will die. Today we have 20,000 dead children,” he added.
Petro hit out at the current world order which allows Israel to bomb Gaza and Lebanon and imposes unilateral sanctions on others.
“The powerful global oligarchy allows bombs to be dropped on Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, or allows the economic blockade of rebellious countries that do not fit into its domain, such as Cuba and Venezuela,” he said.
He said the power of a nation in the world is "no longer exercised by political and economic power, but by destroying humanity”.
“Those of us who have the power to sustain life speak without being paid attention to. That is why they do not listen to us when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza. The presidents who can destroy humanity do not listen to us,” he said.
On Sunday, Petro rejected accusations of being anti-Semitic over his pro-Palestine stance, saying anti-Semitism is manifested in the killing of Gaza children and not in speaking against Israel’s ongoing genocide.
He made the remarks after US special envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt claimed that Petro's criticism of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza was “harmful” as it “normalizes” anti-Semitism.
Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 last year after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas conducted Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 41,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. Over 95,900 Palestinians have also been injured.
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
