Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur to occupied territories, calls for practical actions and warns against the distraction of “attention from where it should be: genocide.”
The United Nations special rapporteur for occupied territories warned that initiatives to recognize a Palestinian state should not distract the Member States to prevent mass death and hunger in Gaza.
“Of course it is important to recognize the state of Palestine,” Francesca Albanese told Guardian after several other countries responded to growing hunger in Gaza announcing plans to recognize an independent Palestine. “It’s inconsistent that they haven’t done it yet.”
But she argued that the prolonged debate around the creation of a Palestinian state has not produced any political progress so far, and instead allowed the dissemination of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied territories, which practically excluded the possibility of a Palestinian state.
“The territory was literally devoured by the advance of annexation and colonization,” she said.
This week, Australia joined the United Kingdom, Canada, France and other countries to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next month. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (unknowingly) described the solution of two states as “the best hope of humanity to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East.”
But the special rapporteur warned that the renewed momentum for the creation of a Palestinian state should not “divert attention from where it should be: genocide.”
She ordered an embargo on all weapons sales to Israel and the cessation of commercial agreements – as well as the responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity for which the International Criminal Court accused senior Israeli officials. It also requested the complete withdrawal of Israel from the territories occupied until the period of September 17 established by the UN General Assembly.
“Ending the issue of Palestine in accordance with international law is possible and necessary: ending genocide today, ending the permanent occupation this year and ending apartheid,” she said. “This is what will guarantee freedom and equal rights for all, regardless of how they want to live – in two states or in a state, they will have to decide.”
In his three years as a rapporteur, but especially since the beginning of the Israeli War in Gaza after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, Albanse has become one of the most frank and recognized defenders of Palestinian rights. His technical reports, accusing Israel of operating an “apartheid regime” and committing “genocide acts”, often anticipated that large international and Israeli human rights groups would reach the same conclusions.
Last month, the Trump administration sanctioned Albanese for its declared support for Palestinian rights and what US authorities called the “shameful promotion” of the TPI action against Israeli authorities.
Although Albanese described herself as a reluctant “chronicler of genocide” and others called her “the voice of global consciousness,” she also attracted condemnation and attacks – including accusations of such persistent anti -Semitism that she at a certain moment she sat for a TV interview in which the first question asked: “Are you anti -semitic?”
“Anti -Semitism and discrimination against Jews as Jews are rude,” Albanese told Guardian in a previous interview in December. “But frankly, I wouldn’t care at all if Israel were governed by Jews, Muslims, Christians or atheists … All I want is that Israel behaves in accordance with international law.”
Francesca Albanese | Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse/Shutterstock
Albanese described the growing global division in relation to Israel’s actions in Gaza as “the supreme struggle” and a question of “light and darkness.” She characterized US sanctions against her as a sign of no strength, “but guilt.”
“The US is a country of contradictions, full of ideals and principles and yet conspiring against democratic values,” She said. “Those who are in power – Democrats or Republicans have always been guided by this kind of supremacist logic towards others, and this strategy is openly cheating on American values of democracy, fundamental freedoms, and really leveling everything they have been preaching.”
She also criticized UN Secretary-General António Guterres, for not more vehement to “unprecedented violation” of privileges and immunities traditionally granted to UN representatives.
A spokesman for Guterres stated earlier that sanctions against her have established a dangerous precedent, but noted that Albanese did not report to him. The rapporteur’s mandate is entrusted to the UN Human Rights Council.
Albanese described the recent meeting of the Hague Group-a 30 nations conference held in Colombia to define practical measures for UN Member States to take action on the end of Israel’s occupation-such as “an ethical force within the system,” which she said she was “based on the basic respect for international law and the honor of multilateralism, which seems to me the basic ingredient to have a functional international community”.
This contrasts with a UN that Albanese believes he is experiencing a “moment of existential crisis.”
“[A ONU] You need to decide if you want to be a real multilateral platform, ”she said.“ We are no longer in the colonial block mindset that has conceived the birth of the UN. Now there are 193 member states, and they all have autonomy and must be respected. Now is the time to cut the umbilical cord of the veto power mentality and emphasize the General Assembly. ”
Albanese noted that the 21 -month war from Israel in Gaza caused a “deep change” in the global views of the conflict, as well as a “brutal repression.”
“We see millions of people going to the streets and asking for the end of genocide, and they are being beaten, arrested and detained on terrorism, while those who are sought by the ICC for war crimes are being received and allowed to fly over European and Western space,” she said. “This is absurd. This is the end of the rule of law.”
International law, she added, “It’s not a prophecy … It’s a tool that should be used to fix things. And in fact, when people use it in courts, they usually earn.”
But she showed optimism about the change in discourse around Israel’s actions. “An entire new generation now speaks the language of human rights,” she said. “For me, this is a success in itself.”
The growing abyss among those in power and millions of people who went to the streets around the world in support of the Palestinians is, in part, why their latest report has not focused on Israeli actions, but in global corporations that they are “profitable with genocide.”
“Occupation is profitable, as is genocide, and this is shocking, but it must be known to be seen and be detained,” she noted. “Power is not just with prime ministers or governments. Power is with us, and we can start choosing based on our pockets.”
As for the Palestinians, despite the monumental suffering and the growing number of deaths, “they have already won the battle of legitimacy,” said Albanse.
“Everyone knows what Israel has done to them in the last 77 years,” she said. “They have made history-not through violence, as some try to portray them-but with their perseverance, their principles and their trust in the judiciary, which has not been their ally.”
Originally published by The Guardian on 08/13/2025
Por alice frighs
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/08/13/reconhecer-o-estado-palestino-nao-deve-distrair-do-fim-das-mortes-em-massa-em-gaza-diz-especialista-da-onu/
