In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September, Colombian president Gustavo Petro not only accused Trump of being “an accomplice to genocide”, and the UN forum “a mute witness to a genocide”, but also proposed the creation of an armed United Nations peacekeeping force to enter Palestine.
Gustavo Petro calls for an international army to liberate Palestine
Petro called for an international army “to liberate Palestine” and stand up to “tyranny and totalitarianism” from the US and NATO, saying:
We need a powerful army of the countries that do not accept genocide. That is why I invite nations of the world and their peoples more than anything, as an integral part of humanity, to bring together weapons and armies. We must liberate Palestine.
To date, numerous countries have put forward UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and permanent ceasefires, but the US has consistently shielded Israel by striking down these resolutions using its veto power six times already.
Uniting for Peace resolution bypasses the US veto
The Uniting for Peace Resolution provides an alternative route, when the Security Council is deadlocked because of these vetoes, by empowering the UN General Assembly to convene an Emergency Special Session at the call of one member state or through a majority, enabling it to make recommendations, to maintain or restore international peace and security. Colombia, has now started this process, which the US is unable to veto, and all member states will be required to vote on this.
Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory illegal, and the UN General Assembly set a 12-month deadline for Israel to end its unlawful presence there, and comply with a range of measures. This deadline expired on 17 September 2025, marking yet another example of non-compliance by Israel. The UN must now uphold the ICJ decision, and use a General Assembly vote to stop the genocide in Gaza, and establish an armed peacekeeping force to protect Palestinians.
‘If Palestine dies, all of humanity dies with it’
Earlier this month at a televised address, Petro said:
Humanity cannot allow genocide to exist, because the bombs that fall in Gaza will also fall in Bogota, in Caracas, in Quito, in Buenos Aires… Because today the mathematical war that is being waged is against the peoples of the world who are not wealthy, who do not buy enough, and who are rebellious in the sense that we want a humanity at peace and full of life…. I have said it before, and I repeat it today: If Palestine dies, all of humanity dies with it. Therefore, every action of opposing extermination, every voice that defies indifference, is an act of life.
Petro has maintained a critical stance on the Israeli occupation since the start of the genocide, and became one of the first voices in the world to describe what was happening as a genocide. He has introduced a wide range of measures against Israel, including severing diplomatic ties with the regime, and implementing an energy embargo.
Feature image via screengrab.
By Charlie Jaay
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