BDS calls on Brazil to suspend steel shipment to Israel

The international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has urged Brazilian authorities to halt a shipment of steel bound for a port in the Israeli-occupied territories.

In a statement released Tuesday, BDS called on Brazilian dockworkers’ unions to organize and refuse to service the cargo, preventing it from leaving the port of Santos.

"We call on Brazilian civil society and social movements to exert immediate public pressure on their authorities to revoke the export license for this cargo before it is shipped." 

Brazil has been vocal in its support for Palestine since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in 2023. The country has also announced its intention to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"If the steel is allowed to leave through the Brazilian port of Santos, this would violate Brazil's own commitment to suspend all military exports to Israel, especially in light of the ongoing live-streamed genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and the use of starvation as a weapon of war,” the BDS stated.

The statement further reminded Brazil's legal obligations under numerous international laws, including 2024 ICJ rulings, which ordered Israel to cease plausibly genocidal actions and declared its occupation illegal. 

Brazil's obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), Articles 6.3 and 7.1, prohibit arms transfers if there is a risk of genocide, crimes against humanity, serious violations of humanitarian law, or human rights violations, the statement noted. 

"The UN General Assembly Resolution A/ES-10/L.31 commits States to 'take measures to cease [...] the provision or transfer of arms, ammunition, and related equipment to Israel' when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," the BDS added. 

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UN legal experts agree that transferring military equipment, including dual-use items such as military-grade steel, to an entity that imposes a system of apartheid and illegal occupation, is committing genocide and waging wars of aggression against sovereign states in the region, as determined by the ICJ, and violates international law. 

The pro-Palestinian movement also demanded an immediate end to Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged territory. It asked states to impose sanctions and embargoes against Israel.

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Since its launch in 2005, BDS has played an instrumental role in building pressure on international companies and brands that directly or indirectly aid Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism.

Launched by 170 Palestinian unions, refugee networks, women’s organizations, popular resistance committees, and other Palestinian civil society bodies, it has been advocating for boycotts, divestment, and economic sanctions against the Tel Aviv regime.

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Over the years, the BDS movement has significantly ramped up its efforts to economically isolate the Israeli regime, particularly since October 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal campaign in Gaza. 

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