Francesca Albanese
 Francesca Albanese    (lawyer, academic) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1977 |
| Alma mater | University of Pisa, SOAS University of London |
Francesca P. Albanese is an Italian international lawyer and academic. On 1 May 2022, she was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory for a three-year term. She is the first woman to hold the position.
Background
Francesca Albanese was born in Ariano Irpino, Italy in 1977. She holds a law degree with honours from the University of Pisa and a Master of Laws in human rights from SOAS University of London, and is completing her PhD in International Refugee Law at the Law Faculty of Amsterdam University.[2] She is an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, a Senior Advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement at the non-profit Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), and Research Fellow at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
UN Rapporteur
As part of her current position as UN rapporteur, Albanese has been critical of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories and recommended in her first report that UN member states develop a plan to end the "Israeli settler-colonial occupation and apartheid regime".[1]
After the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Albanese called for an immediate ceasefire and warned that Palestinians in Gaza were at risk of "mass ethnic cleansing." On 26 March 2024, Albanese reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.[2]
There has been international attention and controversy surrounding Albanese's appointment and tenure as Special Rapporteur. Critics of Albanese have accused her of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias. Human rights groups and scholars have said the accusations are illegitimate attempts to discredit her criticism of Israel.[3]
Genocide in Gaza
| Francesca Albanese speaking at the Palais des Nations in Geneva |
Following the presentation of her latest report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, held a press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 27 March 2024.[4]
Her report says that, by analysing the patterns of violence and Israel’s policies in its onslaught on Gaza since 7 October 2023, "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met."
Albanese said one of her key findings was that Israel’s executive and military leadership and soldiers have intentionally "subverted their protection functions in an attempt to legitimise genocidal violence against the Palestinian people."
"The only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the unveiling of this policy is an Israeli state policy of genocidal violence toward the Palestinian people in Gaza,” she said, adding that it was a “long-standing settler-colonial process of erasure."
She called for the ongoing Nakba to stop, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948.[5]
References
- ↑ "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese"
- ↑ "UN expert says Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, calls for arms embargo"
- ↑ "More than 100 rights groups condemn Israel’s smear campaign against UN Special Rapporteur Albanese"
- ↑ "Q&A with Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory"
- ↑ "UN expert Francesca Albanese stands by Gaza genocide report despite threats"
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