Francesca Albanese was
speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in
Geneva, where she presented her latest report, entitled ‘Anatomy of
a Genocide’, during an interactive dialogue with Member States.
“Following nearly six months of unrelenting Israeli assault on
occupied Gaza, it is my solemn duty to report on the worst of
what humanity is capable of, and to present my findings,” she
said.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the
threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide…has
been met.”
Three acts committed
Citing international law, Ms. Albanese explained that genocide is
defined as a specific set of actscommitted with
the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic,
racial or religious group.
“Specifically, Israel has committed three acts of genocide with
the requisite intent, causing seriously serious bodily or mental
harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the
group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical
destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended
to prevent birth within the group,” she said.
Furthermore, “the genocide in Gaza is the most extreme
stage of a long-standing settler colonial process of
erasure of the native Palestinians,” she
continued.
‘A tragedy foretold’
“For over 76 years, this process has oppressed the Palestinians
as a people in every way imaginable, crushing their inalienable
right to self-determination demographically, economically,
territorially, culturally and politically.”
She said the “colonial amnesia of the West has condoned
Israel's colonial settler project”, adding that “the
world now sees the bitter fruit of the impunity afforded to
Israel. This was a tragedy foretold.”
Ms. Albanese said denial of the reality and the continuation of
Israel's impunity and exceptionalism is no longer viable,
especially in light of the binding UN Security Council
resolution, adopted on Monday, which called for an
immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Arms embargo and sanctions against Israel
“I implore Member States to abide by their obligations
which start with imposing an arms embargo and sanctions on
Israel, and so ensure that the future does not continue
to repeat itself,” she concluded.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts like Ms. Albanese
receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council. They are
not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.
Israel ‘utterly rejects’ report
Israel did not participate in the dialogue but issued a press
release stating that it “utterly rejects” Ms. Albanese’s report,
calling it as “an obscene inversion of reality”.
“The very attempt to level the charge of genocide against Israel
is an outrageous distortion of the Genocide Convention.
It is an attempt to empty the word genocide of its unique
force and special meaning; and turn the Convention
itself into a tool of terrorists, who have total disdain for life
and for the law, against those trying to defend against them,”
the release said.
Israel said its war is against Hamas, not Palestinian
civilians.
“This is a matter of explicit government policy, military
directives and procedures. It is no less an expression of
Israel’s core values. As stated, our commitment to uphold
the law, including our obligations under international
humanitarian law, is unwavering.”
‘Barbaric aggression continues’: Palestine
Ambassador
The Ambassador of the Permanent Observer of the State of
Palestine to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Khraishi, noted that the
report provides the historic context of genocide against the
Palestinians.
He said Israel “continues its barbaric aggression” and
refuses to abide by the decision of the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), issued in January, to
take provisional measures in order to prevent the crime of
genocide. Israel has also refused to abide by UN General
Assembly and Security Council resolutions, including the one
adopted on Monday, he added.
“And this means that all recommendations in the report of the
Special Rapporteur shall be implemented, and practical
measures should be taken to prevent the export of
weapons, to boycott Israel commercially and politically, and to
implement mechanisms of accountability,” he said.
