The outspoken Italian human rights lawyer, Francesca Albanese, accuses British politicians of genocide denial and urges the EU to cut trade ties with Israel
Middle East Eye
Part 2 - Persona non grata
According to Albanese, the failure to issue arrest warrants is putting international justice on the edge.
"We might lose what we have, what we have built. Multilateralism is on the edge, and international law is on a knife's edge.
"It's about us, all of us students, doctors, professors, journalists, ordinary people in the street to protect it if our elected government officials don't do that."
Middle East Eye hosted Albanese on 13 November during her visit to London, where she spoke with students and staff at four universities, including her alma mater, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
"We might lose what we have, what we have built. Multilateralism is on the edge, and international law is on a knife's edge.
"It's about us, all of us students, doctors, professors, journalists, ordinary people in the street to protect it if our elected government officials don't do that."
Middle East Eye hosted Albanese on 13 November during her visit to London, where she spoke with students and staff at four universities, including her alma mater, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
An Italian human rights lawyer, Albanese holds the title of the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022, she is the eighth person to hold that mandate since its creation in 1993, and the first woman.
As an independent expert, she is the principal investigator in charge of following and reporting to the council on the human rights situation in occupied Palestine. But Israel has treated her as persona non grata since the beginning of her mandate.
She is a self-described "reluctant chronicler of genocide". Within the past year, she has submitted two reports to the UN Human Rights Council, where she outlined her legal analysis on why the attacks on the Palestinian population may amount to genocide.
Over the past 12 months, Albanese has risen to become an icon on the international arena, using her mandate to publicly call out states at the UN for their responsibility to halt the continued Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced the majority of the 2.3 million population, and made the enclave largely uninhabitable.
As an independent expert, she is the principal investigator in charge of following and reporting to the council on the human rights situation in occupied Palestine. But Israel has treated her as persona non grata since the beginning of her mandate.
She is a self-described "reluctant chronicler of genocide". Within the past year, she has submitted two reports to the UN Human Rights Council, where she outlined her legal analysis on why the attacks on the Palestinian population may amount to genocide.
Over the past 12 months, Albanese has risen to become an icon on the international arena, using her mandate to publicly call out states at the UN for their responsibility to halt the continued Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced the majority of the 2.3 million population, and made the enclave largely uninhabitable.
Western states that she accuses of complicity in genocide have waged a relentless campaign against her, with US officials calling for her dismissal and others accusing her of antisemitism, a charge she describes as part of attempts to smear and silence her.
In her reports and public engagements, Albanese has spearheaded calls for unseating Israel from the UN.
In Albanese's view, Israel should be isolated in the international arena in the same way as apartheid South Africa was during the apartheid era. This includes suspension from the UN General Assembly, as was the case with South Africa in 1974.
In her reports and public engagements, Albanese has spearheaded calls for unseating Israel from the UN.
In Albanese's view, Israel should be isolated in the international arena in the same way as apartheid South Africa was during the apartheid era. This includes suspension from the UN General Assembly, as was the case with South Africa in 1974.
Despite the notable surge in brutality in Gaza, she emphasised that she can foresee an end to the current situation.
"We shall not forget that the black South Africans experienced the most brutal part of the apartheid just one or two years before apartheid collapsed. So the brutality we see today also signals that we might be close to an end."
"We shall not forget that the black South Africans experienced the most brutal part of the apartheid just one or two years before apartheid collapsed. So the brutality we see today also signals that we might be close to an end."
Under Article 6 of the UN Charter, the General Assembly has the authority to expel a UN member state upon a recommendation from the Security Council, if the state has "persistently violated" the principles enshrined in the charter.
For Albanese, the case for suspending Israel is even stronger than that of South Africa.
She used arguments such as persistent breaches of international law over the past seven decades, including legally binding Security Council resolutions and orders by the International Court of Justice, as well as the latest banning of the UN’s relief organisation for Palestinians (Unrwa) and killing hundreds of members of its staff in Gaza; attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, declaring the UN secretary general persona non grata, and barring UN special rapporteurs, including Albanese herself, from entering occupied Palestine since 2008.
For Albanese, the case for suspending Israel is even stronger than that of South Africa.
She used arguments such as persistent breaches of international law over the past seven decades, including legally binding Security Council resolutions and orders by the International Court of Justice, as well as the latest banning of the UN’s relief organisation for Palestinians (Unrwa) and killing hundreds of members of its staff in Gaza; attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, declaring the UN secretary general persona non grata, and barring UN special rapporteurs, including Albanese herself, from entering occupied Palestine since 2008.
Albanese says that all states violate international law in one way or another, but the case for unseating Israel is becoming more cogent than ever.
"Look at what Israel has done to the UN this year, accusing every one, and every possible organisation, from the secretary general, independent experts, particularly myself.
"Look at what Israel has done to the UN this year, accusing every one, and every possible organisation, from the secretary general, independent experts, particularly myself.
"I've been PNGed [declared persona non grata], but also the special rapporteur on the right to food, the special rapporteur on adequate housing have been violently attacked."
The Israeli ban on Unrwa operations, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, is particularly "brutal" and must be faced with consequences to prevent its recurrence internationally, she said.
"This is pretty brutal, pretty unprecedented. It shouldn't set a precedent, and this is why it should be followed by forceful measures."
She called for a two-way arms embargo on Israel.
The Israeli ban on Unrwa operations, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, is particularly "brutal" and must be faced with consequences to prevent its recurrence internationally, she said.
"This is pretty brutal, pretty unprecedented. It shouldn't set a precedent, and this is why it should be followed by forceful measures."
She called for a two-way arms embargo on Israel.
"It's what is transferred to Israel, but also what is purchased from Israel, which is endangering all of us, because it consists of what Israel has experimented on the Palestinians for decades, and even now weapons that allow it to control masses, to confine masses and to exterminate masses.
"This is extremely dangerous. The surveillance system that Israel has perfected and then sold abroad, like Pegasus and other spying devices. All this must be stopped."
Additionally, Albanese said Europe as Israel's largest trade partner should sever these ties.
"There is no other way than cutting these ties, because these provide Israel the tools to continue to oppress the Palestinians," she said.
"Diplomatic, political, economic, military, strategic, and financial ties with Israel must be seriously reconsidered."
"This is extremely dangerous. The surveillance system that Israel has perfected and then sold abroad, like Pegasus and other spying devices. All this must be stopped."
Additionally, Albanese said Europe as Israel's largest trade partner should sever these ties.
"There is no other way than cutting these ties, because these provide Israel the tools to continue to oppress the Palestinians," she said.
"Diplomatic, political, economic, military, strategic, and financial ties with Israel must be seriously reconsidered."
Source, links:
Comments
Post a Comment