As Israel pursues a relentless campaign against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel proper, marked by serious violations of international law, its allies and military backers have redirected their criticism toward Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT) since 1967. Instead of taking meaningful action to hold Israel accountable, they – most recently the United States ambassador to the UN – have resorted to attacking a UN official – a tactic that professes concern with accountability” while enabling Israel to evade it.
Claims that Albanese’s role represents an unfair focus on Israel lack substance. Albanese is the eighth person to occupy the position, established by the UN in 1993. Alongside 12 other country-specific rapporteurs – including Belarus, Myanmar, the Central African Republic and Iran – the role was created because the occupation of Palestinian territories is an extremely longstanding international crisis (extending, as the rapporteur’s title makes clear, to at least 1967) with profound human rights implications within and beyond the region. The fact that of her UN colleagues, Albanese receives by far the most scrutiny is indicative of this – as well as of her particular effectiveness at her job.
Since being appointed rapporteur in May 2022, Albanese has become widely recognised for her unwavering commitment to assessing Israel’s military actions in Gaza through the lens of international humanitarian law, an area in which she has over two decades of expertise. Her mandate is a vital check on power and injustice in the occupied territories, particularly given the chokehold Israel maintains on foreign media coverage. By exposing Israel’s mounting war crimes and highlighting the complicity of much of the international community in them, Albanese has revealed the hypocrisy of those who claim to uphold the rule of law. Consequently, she has faced a torrent of criticism from those determined to discredit her work, people more interested in silencing her voice than in addressing the human rights abuses she brings to light.
Since 7 October, Albanese’s role has never been more important. Over 40,000 (by some estimates, over 180,000) Gazans, predominantly women and children, have been killed by Israeli attacks on the strip, with the civilian infrastructure obliterated. Journalists, doctors, and even children are considered legitimate targets by some high-ranking Israeli officials.
The special rapporteur position has always been a cornerstone of the UN’s commitment to justice and accountability, documenting human rights violations in a given territory or thematic area. Albanese’s mandate is no different: her work is grounded in rigorous analysis and guided by international law, with the aim of shedding light on what is now recognised by the International Criminal Court as a potentially genocidal occupation.
Yet Albanese’s critics – chiefly pro-Israel lobbyists and state officials keen on shielding their ally from international scrutiny – continue to allege bias and even antisemitism. These accusations serve no purpose other than to deflect attention from the abuses Albanese is mandated to investigate and shut down any substantive discussion on human rights.
Yet perhaps most infuriating to Albanese’s critics is that despite relentless attacks by powerful actors, Albanese has demonstrated steadfast resolve in fulfilling her mandate. She embodies the essence of a human rights defender, acting impartially and fearlessly. It is, therefore, no surprise that states increasingly isolated for their support of Israel’s indefensible actions – actions Albanese has characterised as genocide – resort to attacking her character rather than addressing the legal findings she presents.
By mischaracterising her as biased, anti-Israel or even antisemitic, these detractors sidestep the core issues Albanese is investigating. Her reports detail the harsh realities faced by Palestinians, including settlement building, property destruction, dispossession, annexation, apartheid and ethnic discrimination – realities that have persisted under unlawful occupation for more than five decades and recently ruled unlawful by the International Court of Justice.
Struggling to find a foothold in their criticism of the ICC and ICJ – not least because their membership includes Israeli lawmakers – Israel’s defenders have discovered there is far more mileage to be got out of launching ad hominem attacks on an individual UN official.
Albanese’s critiques are aimed at state actions and policies that violate international law, not at individuals based on their membership of a religious group. Her detractors purposefully overlook this distinction in order to undermine Albanese’s moral standing and discredit her legal opinion – and by extension the entire system of international humanitarian law.
Human rights oversight is crucial, particularly in regions plagued by prolonged and disproportionate violence, even more so where a state has been recently judged by the world’s highest court to be in unlawful occupation of another territory and by another in the possible commission of genocide. In this context, Francesca Albanese’s work is not only lawful but indispensable. Any attempt to derail her mission with politically motivated attacks is a direct affront to the core values upheld by the UN and the broader international community.
If UN member states truly uphold the principles enshrined in the UN charter, they must stand firmly behind Albanese, defending her from those who seek to undermine her work. To abandon her would be to forsake the very principles on which the UN was founded. Now, more than ever, the UN and its member states must act with integrity and courage, supporting Albanese in her quest for justice and accountability.
Source: Novara Media