In a joint statement, DiEM25 and Progressive International unequivocally condemn Annalena Baerbock’s election as the UNGA President and demand accountability for her role in facilitating and abetting the genocide of the Palestinian people

As the liberal international order crumbles and global institutions lose legitimacy, we must reject a rigged system that rewards impunity. No one complicit in grave crimes should be allowed to lead the very bodies meant to uphold international law.

Awarding the presidency of the UN General Assembly to Annalena Baerbock – a figure whose record as Germany’s former Foreign Minister has actively obstructed ceasefires, undermined ICC/ICJ processes and decisions, and facilitated arms transfers to Israel despite warnings and concerns of a genocide – threatens to entrench impunity rather than foster justice.

That’s why we, together with Progressive International, have also launched a global campaign to block Baerbock from assuming the presidency of the UNGA this September.

In her new role, Baerbock’s prior history of blocking Palestinian sovereignty and shielding alleged perpetrators from accountability will inevitably shape UNGA agendas in ways that cannot be tolerated. Her presidency is rooted in complicity and she must instead be held to account for her overt defiance of international legal bodies, rather than being rewarded with leadership of these institutions.

SIGN THE ‘BLOCK BAERBOCK’ PETITION

We therefore declare:

• Annalena Baerbock’s election as UNGA President runs directly counter to the principles enshrined in recent ICJ/ICC rulings related to Palestine. 
  • The ICJ’s provisional measures (January 2024, March 2024, May 2024) in South Africa’s genocide case require Israel to “immediately halt military operations and prevent acts that may constitute genocide against Palestinians”. However, as Germany’s Foreign Minister at the time, Baerbock consistently blocked enforcement of those measures by defending Germany’s arms transfers, which under her leadership made Germany the second-largest weapons supplier to Israel. 
• Her record of obstructing ceasefires and humanitarian pauses directly undermined ICJ/ICC jurisprudence. 
  • On 23 October 2023, Baerbock blocked an EU joint declaration calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, explicitly rejecting language that would have enforced provisional ICJ measures. By that time, Palestinians in Gaza had already endured weeks of collective punishment, with no access to aid, electricity, water, or other essential supplies. 
  • In her address to the German Bundestag on 10 October 2024, Baerbock asserted that “civilian sites could lose their protected status if terrorists abuse them”  and at the United Nations General Assembly on 26 September 2024 she justified attacks on civilians, claiming that “the right to self-defence can contradict the values of the UN charter when civilians are used as human shields”.She has consistently and directly justified attacks on civilians under the guise of self-defence and contradicted the ICJ’s orders requiring Israel to suspend all military operations in Gaza and to prevent actions that might constitute genocide

     

• She has shown contempt for ICC arrest warrants and for the authority of the International Court of Justice. 
  • As Germany’s Foreign Minister, Baerbock had the legal duty to instruct German authorities to enforce the ICC’s 21 November 2024 arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Instead, she refused to reaffirm the Court’s decision—merely stating, “we respect judicial independence” and “we are now examining exactly how we will deal with it”—thereby obstructing enforcement and shielding the indicted from accountability.In light of

    her government’s hostile stance to the ICC arrest warrants and casting doubts on the decision of the ICC through government spokesperson’s statements such as: “I find it difficult to imagine that we are carrying out arrests in Germany on this basis” and by invoking a vague “own investigation” and claiming it was “not foreseeable” to execute the warrants, her silence and lack of any robust defence for the ICC’s decision shows that she prioritises political allegiance over the rule of law, effectively undermining the Court’s authority and enabling impunity. 

  • On 10 January 2024, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock publicly rejected South Africa’s application at the ICJ as baseless and stated that “Israel’s self-defence against Hamas cannot be considered genocide”—thereby dismissing the very legal premise of the case. 
• Under her watch, Germany became the second-largest supplier of weapons to Israel during the Gaza conflict—fueling actions that ICJ courts deemed potentially genocidal. 
  • Between 2019 and 2023, Germany accounted for roughly 30 percent of all Israeli arms imports; in 2023 alone, it authorised over €400 million in military exports to Israel.
  • By facilitating this flow of weapons—even after ICJ findings mandated an immediate halt—Baerbock’s ministry aided conduct that violates the Genocide Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention. 
• Her persistent refusal to support Palestinian self-determination is incompatible with the UN’s founding charter. 
  • Baerbock rejected any EU recognition of an independent State of Palestine in early 2024, insisting a two-state solution must emerge from bilateral negotiations. In May 2024, after Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia moved to recognise Palestinian statehood, Baerbock stated on 22 May 2024: “To resolve this terrible situation … we do not need a symbolic recognition, but a political solution”

• In UN votes on 27 October 2023 and 12 December 2023, Germany abstained on ceasefire resolutions—citing the absence of language condemning Hamas rather than prioritising humanitarian imperatives. Germany abstained on both votes, explicitly stating it could not support a resolution that did not also condemn the 7 October attacks.

SIGN THE ‘BLOCK BAERBOCK’ PETITION

Conclusion

By electing Annalena Baerbock as President of the UN General Assembly, the international community signals that those who oppose enforcement of ICJ/ICC rulings, facilitate arms transfers enabling potential genocide, and reject Palestinian self-determination remain above the law. 

DiEM25 and the Progressive International will therefore reject any attempts by Baerbock to steer UNGA 80 in ways that subvert international legal obligations. Her track record as Germany’s foreign minister— undermining justice, fuelling violence, justifying war crimes and denying fundamental human rights stands in stark contradiction to the United Nations’ founding commitment to uphold peace, security, and human dignity. 

Unless she is held accountable for obstructing ICC/ICJ mandates—including subjecting her decisions to independent review, ensuring corrective measures are enforced, and facing appropriate consequences for her complicity—her presidency cannot be allowed to stand.

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