Netanyahu should stand trial for Palestinian genocide, Chile’s Boric tells UN
President Gabriel Boric of Chile told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be brought before an international court to face charges of genocide against Palestinians.
Boric said the war in Gaza had become “a global crisis” that demanded accountability, not vengeance. "I do not want to see Netanyahu destroyed by a missile along with his family," he said. "I want to see Netanyahu and those responsible for the genocide against the Palestinian people facing an international court of justice."
The Chilean leader’s intervention came as civilian casualties in Gaza continue to mount. Palestinian health authorities say tens of thousands of people have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign, many of them women and children.
Boric argued that the suffering transcended borders. “When beneath the rubble lie boys and girls, there is a genuine pain in our homeland, in Chile,” he said. The deaths of innocents, he added, “resonate far beyond Gaza.”
He also condemned what he described as repeated violations of sovereignty and international law. Without naming specific countries, he criticised assassinations on neutral territory, attacks on nuclear facilities and wars launched under false pretences.
"That is precisely why these United Nations were created: to dialogue and decide that barbarity is not acceptable, that human rights must be respected regardless of ideologies, of victims or of perpetrators, and that international law is the guarantee that reason will always prevail over force."
The Chilean president framed his remarks as part of a broader call for renewed dialogue.
He urged nations to build bridges rather than deepen divides, pointing to a new regional initiative on democracy launched with Brazil, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
