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The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has refused calls to resign and rejected criticism from states that fail to condemn genocide in Palestine. She stressed that she will not accept “lessons from countries that violate international law and fail to condemn genocide.”
Earlier on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for the resignation of the UN rapporteur over comments she made allegedly targeting Israel at a conference on Gaza.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher, she urged Western governments to discuss the reports she has submitted on alleged Israeli violations, rather than target her personally. She said the debate should focus on the content of her reports, not on her as an individual.
Albanese stated that she is facing what she described as a smear campaign because of her condemnation of what she called Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the West Bank. She said: “The campaign of attack against me is nothing compared to the genocide suffered by the Palestinians.”
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Responding to accusations that she had exceeded her UN mandate, Albanese said she had not overstepped her authority. She argued that the intensity of the criticism reflects the impact of her human rights work.
She also said she does not receive a salary for her role and that she has faced personal pressure and sanctions. However, she added that she draws strength from the suffering of Palestinians, especially mothers in Gaza, and that she seeks to inspire others to stand up for justice.
In a related development, Albanese said remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed her position on what she described as “special protection for Israel”. She said he should have condemned Israeli crimes instead of attacking her.
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
