Trade unions and civil society groups in Belgium have called for the imposition of a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel as it continues to wage a genocidal war on Palestine.
In a joint statement published in DeMorgen on November 16, the General Labor Federation of Belgium (FGTB) and the Vredesactie [Peace Action] movement implored that Brussels must “do more than just play a strong diplomatic role. It must fully play its role as a sovereign state in the practical application, on its territory, of the international rules to which it has subscribed”.
The appeal drew attention to Belgium’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, which it had ratified in 2013.
The Treaty states that a nation “shall not authorize any transfer of conventional arms” if “it has knowledge at the time of authorization that the arms or items would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which it is a Party.”
The organizations noted that the legal framework for controlling the transit of arms in Belgium is “far too lax.” They added that these controls had not been strengthened in the aftermath of October 7. “The Belgian authorities in a broad sense are silent on the nature of certain transfers of materials or on the contents of certain cargoes, whether by air or by sea.”
While being “equally opposed” to arms transfers to Hamas, the statement has asked the international community to impose a “comprehensive arms embargo on all parties involved in the violence.” It specifically calls on the Belgian authorities to take immediate action to prevent all transit of military materials.
Other signatories include Amnesty International Belgium, the Human Rights League, the National Center for Development Cooperation (CNCD), the National Coordination of Action for Peace and Democracy (CNAPD), and the Belgian-Palestinian Association (ABP), as well as trade unions and federations including ACV, ABVV, and CSC.
A few weeks prior, a “common union front” composed of the Belgian Union of Transport Workers (BTB), BBTK, ACV-Transcom, and the CSC declared that they would refuse to load and unload weapons in transit to Israel which were contributing to the “murder of innocent people.” The front also called for an immediate ceasefire and for the Belgian government to not allow arms shipments through its airports.
The call for an arms embargo has been raised at a time when senior Belgian officials have been taking a stronger stance on Israel.
On November 8, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Petra De Sutter, called for sanctions against Israel, stating that “The rain of bombs is inhumane… It is clear that Israel does not care about the international demands for a ceasefire.”
The Minister of Development and Urban Policy, Caroline Gennez, called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into war crimes committed by Israel.
Peter Mertens, Secretary General of the PTB-PVDA and member of the federal parliament, said on Flemish national TV: “Besieging 2.3 million people, depriving them of food, fuel, water and means of communication and then bombing them: this is a war crime and an act of terror. Netanyahu should be prosecuted for this at the International Criminal Court in The Hague”.
The European Union has yet to take a unified foreign policy stance on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, even as European Commission President Urusula Von Der Leyen has made proclamations of support of Israel’s “right to defend itself”.
“The European Union has become very much subservient to US empire. We behave like a vassal state of the US, now especially under the leadership of Urusula Von Der Leyen, the EU Commission President,” Mick Wallace, an Irish member of the European Parliament, told Peoples Dispatch. “She has taken a very pro-American stance and that’s come at an incredible cost.”
