A magistrate of Colombia’s war crimes tribunal JEP asked the prosecution to seize assets of companies that profit from Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Magistrate Caterina Heyck filed a lawsuit in which she urged the prosecution to proceed to the forfeiture of assets belonging to companies that were mentioned in a recent report on Israel’s “economy of genocide.”
Multiple multinationals with subsidiaries in Colombia, like Glencore and Drummond, appear in the report of the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese.
The companies denounced by Albanese “are profiting from the genocide against the Palestinian people, which has led to the continuation of the genocide,” said Heyck.
If years ago the criminal phenomenon of drug trafficking inspired the design and approval of the Code of Extinction of Ownership to counteract this scourge that threatens public health and is one of the most lucrative transnational businesses on the planet, clearly crossing state borders; the genocide against the Palestinian people, as a crime that concerns, offends, and degrades humanity, must also lead to its application in Colombia, to prevent companies in this country and others that follow its example, especially those that have legal mechanisms such as asset forfeiture, from continuing to profit with impunity from its commission.
Magistrate Caterina Heyck
By applying the asset forfeiture laws commonly used against drug trafficking organizations, the Prosecutor General’s Office would comply with its legal obligation to prevent genocide, the magistrate argued.
With this complaint, I intend to honor the principles established in the Convention against Genocide, which places at the forefront, not only of States, but also of institutions, authorities, and all individuals, the obligation to adopt and promote measures within their power to prevent, punish, and impede genocide such as that which is currently taking place before the eyes of all humanity.
Magistrate Caterina Heyck
President Gustavo Petro, a fierce critic of Israel’s genocidal policies in Gaza, previously banned coal exports to Israel, claiming that Colombian coal was used for the production of bombs.
Colombia is one of the founding members of The Hague Group, which seeks to optimize the use of diplomatic and legal means to force governments to comply with the Genocide Convention and a ruling by the International Court of Justice, which deemed Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal.
