Portuguese-flagged ship carrying lethal aid to Israel, UN rights expert warns

A United Nations human rights expert has warned that a Portuguese-flagged ship is carrying tons of explosives to Israel, reiterating calls for an immediate arms embargo against the occupying entity to prevent further genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip.

UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese sounded the alert in a post on X on Saturday, warning that based on the received information, “the vessel Kathrin, flying with Portuguese flag, is expected to deliver 8 containers of explosives to Israel.”

“These explosives are reportedly key components in the aircraft bombs and missiles that Israel is deploying against besieged Gaza and in its genocidal campaign against the Palestinians. As Namibia has rightfully denied port access to Kathrin, upholding int’l law, my hope is that Angola will follow Namibia’s example and not consent to harbor the ship. This could be a serious breach of the Genocide Convention,” Albanese added.

According to Vesselfinder ship tracking data earlier this week, the cargo ship, the MV Kathrin, which is sailing under the flag of Madeira, is currently anchored off the coast of Namibia, as the country in southwest Africa has refused to allow it to enter any of its ports.

Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, is an archipelago comprising four islands off the northwest coast of Africa. 

Albanese stressed that she is “extremely concerned by Portugal’s potential sponsorship of the ship and for facilitating Kathrin’s delivery.”

“This may be a breach of the Genocide Convention. Critical reminder: Any military transfer to Israel, which the ICJ determined may be plausibly committing genocide, amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention and of the HRC resolution 55/L.30 mandating an arms embargo on Israel,” she emphasized, stressing, once again, that there is a need to enforce arms embargo against Israel.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has been grilled by the opposition ever since the cargo of MV Kathrin has been revealed, with Bloco de Esquerda (The Left Bloc) democratic socialist political party wanting to establish if his executive is prepared to allow Portuguese ships to be involved in transporting arms to the Israeli regime. 

The vessel is said to be owned by the German Concord Shipping Company. However, regardless of its ownership, the ship is flying the Portuguese flag, which means Portugal could be viewed as complicit in what many now regard as genocide, potentially breaching international law.

UN expert calls for arms, oil embargo against Israel

The UN expert said countries must do everything in their power to prevent ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

The development comes as Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel has already denounced Tel Aviv for its “perpetuation of ‘intolerable attacks’ on the people trapped in Gaza.” He also expressed his “unfavorable opinion on the export of arms and ammunition to Israel”.

Lisbon has not yet commented on Israel-bound MV Kathrin and its lethal cargo.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

Along with the war, the regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on the coastal territory, which has reduced the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the Palestinian territory into a trickle.

So far, the regime has killed at least 40,602 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents. Another 93,855 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.

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