Malaysia Urges Stronger Hague Group-UNSC Cooperation to Push Arms Embargo, Sanctions on Israel

New York, Sept 27 (VoM): Malaysia has called for closer cooperation between The Hague Group and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to advance efforts for an arms embargo and sanctions against Israel over its war in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the UNSC must be pressed to invoke its mandate under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter to hold Israel accountable. Speaking at the Hague Group High-Level Ministerial Meeting on Palestine, held on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly, he stressed the urgency of collective action to stop Israel’s “genocidal war” on Gaza.

“The Hague Group must rally peace-loving nations to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including halting all agreements to supply military items and dual-use technology such as heavy machinery,” Mohamad said. “By doing so, we can deny the tools of genocide to a state intent on committing it.”

He also urged the group to work more closely with like-minded organizations, including the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to strengthen advocacy for Palestinian rights.

Citing the growing number of UN member states that now recognize Palestine, Mohamad said this momentum should be harnessed to intensify calls for justice. “Conditions have grown truly desperate in Gaza. If civilians are not killed by bullets or bombs, they are starved to death. Acute malnutrition among children is spreading. In the West Bank, illegal settlement expansion continues, along with plans for full annexation,” he warned.

Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to supporting The Hague Group’s joint initiatives. Mohamad further highlighted Malaysia’s concern over a recent UN report that revealed the role of multinational corporations in enabling Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, urging the international community to respond.

The Hague Group, formed earlier this year in the Netherlands by Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa, seeks coordinated legal, economic, and diplomatic measures to confront Israel’s violations of international law.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, mostly women and children, and devastated the enclave. The blockade has triggered famine and a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.