Colombia totally bans coal exports to Israel because they “fuel” the war

Bogotá.- The Government of Colombia announced this Saturday the entry into force of a decree that totally prohibits coal exports to Israel, considering that this resource cannot be used to “feed a war machine” in the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Coal exports to Israel were banned in June 2024 by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who in recent months denounced that ships with the mineral continue to leave for that country, which he considered a “challenge” to his government. The new decree, which establishes “strict and no-exception” restrictions on the trade of this mineral with Israel in the face of the “persistence of acts of war against the Palestinian people”, is a measure adopted by the ministries of Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Mines and Energy, and Finance.

“Colombia cannot be indifferent to the suffering of the Palestinian people. This is a concrete act to stop the war escalation and a decisive contribution from our country to world peace,” said the Minister of Commerce, Diana Marcela Morales Rojas, when presenting the measure.

The ban is based on three pillars: respect for international law, protection of the civilian population, and consistency of Colombia as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2025-2027. The decree will remain in force until the provisional measures orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are fulfilled or until the conditions that motivated the decision disappear.

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The Colombian government emphasized that the measure is supported by the international agreements signed by the country, including the exceptions permitted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the bilateral Trade Agreement with Israel, which contemplate restrictions for reasons of public morals and national security.

Coal is Colombia’s main export product to Israel, but it only represented 5.05% of the total of that mineral sold by the country in 2023.

Colombia broke diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024, in rejection of the military offensive in Gaza, which, according to United Nations figures, has left more than 60,000 dead, mostly civilians. Petro has been one of the main Latin American critics of that war, which he openly calls “genocide”, and has supported the demands against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes before the International Criminal Court (ICC).