'Israel' urges UN not to reappoint Albanese as Special Rapporteur

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Apr 2025 21:55
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Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon accused Albanese of targeting "Israel and the Jewish people as a whole," a claim often used by Israeli officials to discredit criticism of the regime's policies.

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UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese at a press conference during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, on March 27, 2024 (AFP)

As part of its ongoing efforts to silence international condemnation of its crimes in Gaza, "Israel" has launched a campaign to block the reappointment of Francesca Albanese as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Albanese, whose mandate is set to be renewed for another three years, has been one of the few UN officials to openly characterize "Israel's" actions in Gaza as potentially genocidal. In her landmark October 2024 report, Anatomy of a Genocide: As Colonial Erasure, she detailed how "Israel's" prolonged blockade, mass displacement campaigns, and systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure contribute to what she described as acts of genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

She wrote that "Israel's" actions include "causing serious bodily or mental harm," "deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the group," and erasing Palestinian presence and identity through "colonial erasure." Albanese has also criticized the international community's failure to impose sanctions or arms embargoes, arguing that this inaction emboldens "Israel" to act with impunity.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon condemned Albanese's expected reappointment in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating: "The renewal of Francesca Albanese's mandate is a disgrace and a moral stain on the United Nations ... . Her statements consistently echo baseless and antisemitic tropes. We call on the Secretary-General and the entire United Nations not to give a platform to a woman who holds racist views and spreads falsehoods in the name of the UN."

Danon further accused Albanese of targeting "Israel and the Jewish people as a whole," a claim often used by Israeli officials to discredit criticism of the regime's policies.

Despite the accusations, Albanese's work has been praised by human rights organizations and Palestinian civil society groups for confronting the reality of occupation, apartheid, and systematic violence in the territories. Her role, while independent and unpaid, carries significant weight in shaping international discourse and exposing abuses that are otherwise dismissed or ignored by mainstream Western institutions.

Meanwhile, the war on Gaza continues unabated. Yesterday, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 112 Palestinians since dawn on Thursday, with 71 of the victims reported in Gaza City alone.