Pakistan, 18 Nations Slam Colombia Over Jerusalem Embassy Move, Call It 'Null and Void'

 

Pakistan and 18 other countries have strongly condemned Colombia's decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem, declaring that any move to recognise the contested city as Israel's capital is "null and void" and has no legal effect. The joint condemnation, issued through a shared Foreign Office statement on Friday, urged Bogota to "reconsider and reverse" its decision.

Main News Report

In a joint statement shared by the Foreign Office in Islamabad, the foreign ministers of 19 countries — Pakistan, Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen — said they "strongly condemn and express their unequivocal rejection of the inauguration by the Republic of Colombia of its embassy in Jerusalem". (Dawn)

Colombia on Wednesday officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem, joining a small group of countries including the United States in taking the symbolic step of backing Israeli sovereignty in the contested city. The vast majority of countries keep their embassies to Israel in Tel Aviv, on the grounds that the status of Jerusalem must be settled in a final resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Dawn)

The statement said the development was in contravention of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and undermined international efforts to achieve a "just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution". (Dawn)

"The foreign ministers reaffirmed that any measure or decision intended to alter the legal or historical status of occupied Jerusalem, or to recognise it as Israel's capital, is null and void and has no legal effect," the joint statement said. (Dawn)

The ministers called on the Colombian government to "reconsider and reverse this decision, uphold its obligations under international law, and refrain from measures that prejudice the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to an independent and sovereign Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital". (Dawn)

Background Context

The position is consistent with relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, particularly Security Council resolutions 476 (1980) and 478 (1980), which reject attempts to change Jerusalem's character or status and call on states to withdraw diplomatic missions from the city, which is part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967. (Dawn)

US President Donald Trump, during his first term, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognised the city as Israel's capital. Since that move, only a handful of small, US-aligned countries have followed suit — Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Nauru. Kosovo and Somaliland, which are not member-states of the United Nations, have also opened what they consider their embassies in Jerusalem. (Dawn)

This is not the first such rebuke this year. In May, Pakistan, along with 13 other countries, condemned what it called the "illegal and unacceptable step" of the so-called Somaliland opening a "purported" embassy in occupied Jerusalem, terming it an "infringement on the legal and historical status of Jerusalem". (Dawn)

Reactions and Statements

• 19 foreign ministers (joint statement): Declared any move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void"; urged Colombia to reconsider and reverse its embassy decision. (Dawn)
• Foreign Office of Pakistan: Shared the joint statement, underlining Pakistan's consistent position that the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem cannot be altered unilaterally. (Dawn)
• Colombia: Has not issued a public response to the condemnation; its embassy opening on Wednesday followed its stated intention to back Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. (Dawn)

Why This News Matters

• Pakistan's diplomatic weight: Islamabad's name leads a 19-country Muslim and Arab bloc, reinforcing its claim to speak for a united front on the Palestinian question.
• Rare unity: The signatories span the Middle East, Africa and Asia — a broad coalition standing against any normalisation of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
• Legal signal: By invoking UNSC resolutions 476 and 478, the bloc keeps the issue anchored in international law rather than bilateral politics. (Dawn)
• Precedent risk: If Colombia's move goes unchallenged, diplomats fear more countries could follow, further eroding the consensus that Jerusalem's status must be negotiated.

Future Developments

• Whether Colombia responds to the call to "reconsider and reverse" its embassy decision.
• Whether the condemnation draws wider international backing, including from Western governments that keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.
• Any follow-up action by the signatory countries at the United Nations or through the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
• Whether other countries follow Colombia's example or are deterred by the collective rebuke.

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