Colombia to propose UN peacekeeping force for Palestine at General Assembly

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced plans to propose the establishment of an armed United Nations peacekeeping force to enter Palestine during the forthcoming UN General Assembly in New York this September.

Speaking during a televised address on his government’s progress in education, Petro emphasized the urgent need for international intervention amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Colombia reports.

“Modern wars in the world are based exclusively on mathematics, carried out from computers, very comfortably in offices in New York and Washington, while bombs actually fall on the heads of babies in Gaza,” he stated.

Petro reiterated his intention to bring the Palestinian issue back to the global stage, as he has done in previous years. He recalled his order for the “total prohibition of coal exports” to Israel, criticizing how “with that coal they make bombs.” He also condemned the paralysis of the UN Security Council due to the United States’ veto power blocking resolutions aimed at peace in Gaza.

Highlighting Colombia’s upcoming role as a non-permanent member of the Security Council starting January 2026, Petro insisted the UN General Assembly must vote to establish an armed peacekeeping contingent in Palestine, with Colombia actively participating. He framed the force as essential to uphold “the right of humanity to demand an end to genocide.”

Petro directly addressed the Israeli government, warning, “If not, they will not respect us, and they will continue killing children in Gaza until they exterminate them.” He stressed the global stakes, saying, “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.”

Since the conflict’s outbreak in October 2023, which has resulted in over 62,000 deaths, Petro has been among the first world leaders to label the violence a “genocide.”

By Vafa Guliyeva