Let’s call upon Bob Rae and the Canadian government to condemn the attempts by Israel and its supporters to incapacitate the UN
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, just wrapped up a speaking tour of eastern Canada. But pro-Israel lobby organizations have tried every trick in their well-thumbed playbook to bar the internationally-renowned human rights jurist and scholar from doing the job she was assigned by the United Nations for a three-year term in 2022. Hurling the usual epithet “antisemite,” they tried to get the Canadian government to bar her from this country. They endeavoured to get her speaking venues cancelled. They urged government officials not to meet with her. They issued missives deriding her and fed disparaging stories to friendly media.
But these opponents failed to silence her message.
Charged by her employer with reporting to the UN and its affiliates on policy relating to the occupied territories, Albanese has been a rigorous critic of Israeli violations of international human rights law, especially against its Palestinian population. She has condemned Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In an early report, she called on UN member states to push Israel to end the occupation. After Israel’s assault on Gaza began in October 2023, Albanese demanded an immediate ceasefire, warning of the risk of ethnic cleansing. On March 26, 2024, Albanese provided further evidence in aid of the International Court of Justice’s accusation of a plausible genocide.
But the blitz by Israel and its supporters on Ms. Albanese is much more than an attack on a single person. It is nothing less than a wholesale offensive against the United Nations itself, at least as it relates to Israel. (more...)
Attempt to censor Francesca Albanese part of larger Israeli campaign to hobble UN
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