Abstract: There are few UN positions that provoke as much scrutiny and criticism as the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. It plays an important role: it catalogues Israel’s violation of Palestinian human rights, provides factual information for advocates and activists, and helps to keep Palestine firmly on the agenda at the UN. This is why Israel and its supporters continually attack the position and its postholders – attacks which have become more shrill and personal since October 7, 2023. Fourteen months into Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, Security in Context spoke to current postholder Francesca Albanese. In this Q+A, Albanese explains why this genocide was a tragedy foretold and what it tells us about global power imbalances. But she also insists that solidarity actions in support of Palestinian liberation can end Israel’s genocide and apartheid regime.
Security in Context (hereafter SiC): We are in the second year of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. This is a shocking statement to be making. We know you feel the same way. You recently said that Israel’s current genocide against Palestinians “was a tragedy foretold.” Could you explain what you meant by this?
Francesca Albanese (hereafter FA): It feels suffocating to see the genocide unfolding day after day, to also see the growing consensus that Israel is committing genocide, but still having UN member states refusing to act. Yet the seeds of the current genocide against Palestinians were planted long before October 2023. Saying otherwise would overlook the many years of suffering endured by the Palestinian people, and both the structural and eruptive violence and abuses of their rights since 1967, and even long before, in the pursuit of the erasure of Palestinians from their land.
In the early 20th century, the European Zionist political movement envisaged Palestine as the land to realise a “state for the Jewish people” through colonisation, even at the expense of the right to self-determination of the majority non-Jewish population (the Palestinian people). It is no accident that the Balfour Declaration of 1917 excluded the words Arab or Palestinian: it ascribed national rights to the “Jewish People” in Palestine who made up less than 10% of the population pre-British Mandate, as well as Jewish persons that migrated thereafter, while dismissing the rest – 90% of the people of Palestine – as the “non-Jewish population” and deliberately denying them the right to self-determination. The logic of colonial erasure, which started by denying political rights is now culminating in the genocide being unleashed against Palestinians in Gaza, and has been a foundation of Israel’s settler-colonial project from the beginning. This, of course, does not and should not obscure the ferocious persecution of the Jewish people in Europe and the crimes of the Holocaust, nor the fact they had no protection in Europe. However, one tragedy does not justify or excuse another.
The full takeover of Palestine has been steadily advanced throughout the past decades: the Nakba is ongoing. The process began with the violent expulsion of over 80% of the non-Jewish population of Palestine in 1947-9 and has been ongoing and intensifying ever since. Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank (including east Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip since 1967 has resulted in its control of every aspect of Palestinian life in the 22% of the land that remained of historic Palestine and that did not become the State of Israel inside “the green line.” Israel has imposed segregation on the Palestinians living there and has gradually obliterated any hope for their right to self-determination. The resulting murder of civilians, forcible disappearances, forced displacement, mass incarcerations, and so much more are all part of a process of structural violence which began many decades ago. Like all settler-colonial projects, Israeli settler colonialism carries in it seeds of genocide that have materialized now in Gaza. Ignoring this goal and overall plan prevents people from understanding Israel’s conduct.
The destruction we see today in Palestine generally, and Gaza especially, is a continuum of this process. This is what a settler-colonial genocide looks like. The destruction is caused by Israel’s deliberate physical and biological devastation of Palestinians as a group in order to take control of the land. This is the critical point: land is central to understanding the intent that drives Israel’s genocide. We must step outside our Western understandings of land and place and property. For the Palestinians, as with all Indigenous people, their land is not just the place where they live: it is who they are. This creates an inherent conflict between Israel, which seeks to acquire the land, and the Palestinians, for whom the land is integral to their existence. This is also what orients the settler-colonial state towards a need to eliminate the Indigenous people. This is why the displacement, the dispossession, the cultural destruction and the devastation of food sovereignty – war crimes and crimes against humanity on their own accord – should also be seen as intended to sever the cultural belonging and connection to land. These acts corrode the human and psychological spirit, as too many Indigenous people can attest to today, hence they are a critical component in understanding the crystallisation of Israel’s genocidal intent toward the Palestinian people.
The current genocide must be situated in this historical context. Silencing and erasing Palestinian history is yet another weapon wielded by Israel to deny the collective identity, political and cultural existence of Palestinians as people and to justify violence against them. In this context, we can see that the current genocide is a tragedy that has been unfolding for many years, not just foretold, but ongoing, visible to the naked eye. Only now this violence is being recognised by the western states that dominate the international community, forever afflicted by “colonial amnesia,” ignoring and obliterating Europe’s colonial past and the settler-colonial/genocidal origins of modern liberal democracies such as Australia, Canada and the United States, among others. Over 500 years of largely unaccounted for colonialism has had an intergenerational impact on western societies’ views of the world and “the other.”
SiC: What is your perspective on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings on the genocide case and the advisory opinion on the illegality of the occupation in 2024, and the ongoing International Criminal Court case? Which one do you think holds more promise? Are there any gains that can be built upon?
FA: The ICJ ruling in January recognised the plausible risk of irreparable harm to Palestinian rights under the Genocide Convention and represented a very important moment for Palestinians: a moment of recognition by the international community’s highest court of the horrific violence, deplorable humanitarian conditions, the genocidal acts, being endured by the people in Gaza. The provisional measures ordered by the Court, in January and then in March and in May, represent a binding obligation on Israel, indeed on all states, to take all measures within their power to prevent genocidal acts, including preventing and punishing incitement to genocide and ensuring that aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza. Additionally, it represents a turning point, where South Africa’s actions may represent a new era in relations between the Global North and South. All this highlights how important a milestone it has been in the Palestinian struggle, a first glimmer of hope to protect civilians in Gaza.
Similarly, perhaps even more profoundly, the Advisory Opinion in July recognising the illegality of the occupation in its entirety across the occupied Palestinian territory was a watershed moment in the Palestinian struggle against Israel’s settler colonialism and violent occupation of Palestinian land. The Advisory Opinion recognises the unlawfulness of Israel military presence in the land and the settling of its own population in the West Bank. In reaffirming fundamental norms prohibiting annexation, settling the population of the occupier on occupied land, racial segregation and apartheid, the Advisory Opinion, although non-binding of itself, places unquestionably binding obligations on Israel and on states supporting its unlawful occupation, by virtue of the peremptory character of the norms invoked by the decision.
Indeed, the obligation on third states to end their relationship with Israel, on account of its illegal occupation and apartheid regime and its probable commission of genocidal acts, is encompassed in both the ICJ provisional measures ruling and Advisory Opinion. These ICJ actions provide an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate its commitment to international law which, until now, seems to have been overlooked in favour of realpolitik. Regrettably, as yet there has been little action by Israel or any other states to carry out these obligations, in particular, their obligation to take all measures to ensure that the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory can fully exercise and realise their right to self-determination, as well as their obligations to prevent and punish genocidal acts and by connection, not to aid and assist them.
This does not mean that either the January 2024 or July 2024 proceedings are ineffectual or should be disregarded. Similarly, the ICC proceedings, though it will likely take many years to achieve any outcome, must not be cast aside as irrelevant. The issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant bear testament to this and are a watershed for international criminal law and accountability. The fact that allies of Western powers face the prospect of judicial proceedings, sends an unequivocal message that, finally, no one is above the law.
All of these developments represent glimmers of hope that the international community has not given up on the ability of international law to protect the Palestinian people. They represent belated but foundational moves upon which we must maintain momentum in condemning Israel’s unlawful actions and protecting Palestinian rights to self-determination and to reside on recognised Palestinian land without military occupation, for years to come.
States must act on these ICJ rulings and the ICC arrest warrants now; failing to do so will undermine the international legal system we have built to protect the rights of all people in all places at all times and shake the foundations of international law on which we all perilously reside. This is an abyss into which we do not want to fall.
SiC: Support for Palestine or Israel has always been divided along North/South lines. Global South states vote for Palestinian rights in the UN while Western states vote against or abstain (with a few exceptions in both cases). Former UN Special Rapporteurs for Palestinian Human Rights John Dugard, Michael Lynk and Richard Falk all said in their co-written book that while they and their reports were regarded as “controversial” by the West they were not by Global South states. This divide has become more visible and starker since October 7. What lessons should we take from this? During this genocide, we have seen some deviation in the West from states such as Ireland and Spain. What could be done to prompt more states to do so?
FA: The occupation and violence that we see in Palestine must not be viewed in an isolated context. What we are witnessing unfold in Gaza and the West Bank (including east Jerusalem), and to Palestinians in general (as those in Israel fall outside the scope of my mandate), extends beyond the specific context of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. The voices of the Global South coming together, with brothers and sisters in the Global North, to fight for Palestinian rights is very powerful and must not be underestimated. It is the coming together of the voices of those who have experienced colonial violence and occupation, and who, as a consequence, are determined to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. For them, the Palestinians are a community with whom they feel deep empathy because they see in Palestine their own (ongoing) struggles, an understanding which the Global North cannot claim to possess (with a few exceptions such as Ireland) but can help address.
The unfortunate reality though is that still today, when the leadership of the Global North claims to have an awareness and understanding of the legacy of colonial violence and destruction that has branded their history (see Germany and Namibia), we still see a colonial rhetoric bleeding into the language, cultures, and actions of many western states. Israel, however, is still seen as a “civilising” nation in the Levant amongst the racialised, “evil” and “barbaric” Levantine states, whose lives and livelihoods are not considered valuable. Indeed, this is the genocidal rhetoric directly invoked by Netanyahu to garner western support. The enduring impact of centuries of colonialism on the mindset of many in the Global North, particularly Europe, but in more recent history also in North America and Australia, has materialised in an all-too-familiar racism against the Palestinian people and, more gravely, in the normalisation of violence against them, up to and including their eradication.
But the Global South, and a number of states in the Global North, are not fooled. The language and genocidal ideology of settler colonialism could not be more clear in the case of Israel and Palestine. The Global North must demonstrate more humility and learn to listen to the voices of the Global South. Because we have become desensitised to our own oppressive power, there is an empathy bias that numbs us to the reality of what we are witnessing. Instead, the North is too habituated to silencing and questioning the intentions of the Global South because this is the psychological tactic it used for many years to justify the violence and exploitation of lands that never belonged to them in the first place.
Against this background, the demographics cannot escape our reflection: this is why the commitment of young generations of Europeans, Australians, North Americans on the side of justice in and for Palestine, is so important. It is the promise that the future can be better than our past, that the fight for justice can see us stand side-by-side, instead of confronting each other or dominating one another, even if the present is a horrible battlefield for many of us.
The liberation of all peoples is deeply interconnected. Every choice that we make, from the products we choose to purchase, to the people who we vote into power, are deeply interconnected with the Palestinian struggle. Young generations everywhere, as well as generally people in the Global South, recognise the interconnectedness of each and every choice that we make, particularly as consumers and voters, and the importance of choosing to stand up for the Palestinian people, even when it may not directly affect their everyday lives. As observed by a group of Indigenous activists from Australia, and then spoken by Aunt Lilla Watson at a UN Conference in 1985: “If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. If you have come because your Liberation is bound together with mine, let us work together.” This is what we must learn from the voices of the South, and that many young people – as demonstrated throughout the student encampments experience this year – are eager to embrace and sustain.
Politically, solidarity from certain western states is very important and must be replicated. Ireland has its own history of British colonial occupation, violence and oppression which explains its clearer vision in relation to the settler-colonial nature and genocide in Gaza. While Spain is departing from the European consensus, committing to increasing its financing to the ICC in response to concerted attacks, Slovenia, Belgium and Norway are also shifting ranks. We have much to learn from Ireland and Spain’s willingness to stand up – a minority amongst powerful Northern states – and defend the rights of the Palestinian people. We must prompt other states to condemn Israel’s actions and end the impunity afforded to it, and prove their commitment to international law and human rights. We must continue to confront colonial history and oppression, to recognise the interconnection of all liberation, and to acknowledge the choices that we make in our language and our actions. We must condemn those actors who remain complicit in Israel’s settler-colonial project. And we must listen to the voices of those who understand what it is to experience colonial violence and learn to empathise with their struggle. We must remember our forgotten humanity.
SiC: What are you investigating for your next UN Special Rapporteur report and what types of political and legal actions are you hoping it provokes?
FA: My next report will be a broad investigation into the role of the private sector in the commission of international crimes connected to Israel’s ongoing occupation, genocide and apartheid regime in the occupied Palestinian territory. This will include the role of businesses, financial institutions, weapons manufacturers, private military and security companies, charities, banks, and pension funds. It will be an investigation into their complicity, aiding, and abetting of international crimes.
Given the increasing strength of multinational corporations, and their superseding of state sovereignty and decision-making power, it is necessary to interrogate the role of private-sector businesses, alongside that of UN member states, in oppressing and exploiting lands, resources and peoples. My report is designed to explore this issue in the context of the Israeli occupation and genocide, and to recognise the role of private actors in continuing and strengthening oppression and violence against Palestinians (as indeed they also do against many others, particularly in the Global South). The report will also look at the implications of such findings for states.
In terms of political and legal actions, I hope that by holding private-sector institutions to account, it will lead them to recognise their role in the ongoing Nakba and unfolding genocide against the Palestinian people, and provoke them to cease relations with Israel. I also hope it will trigger private-sector institutions to adhere to their human rights obligations under the United Nations Guiding Principles to practice greater human rights due diligence in present and future trade. The implications on states of these findings will also be profound. Understanding the role of the private sector will reinforce the obligations on states to end their support for Israel’s occupation: in particular, by cancelling their economic relationships, trade agreements and academic relations with Israel, and implementing arms embargoes to prevent the delivery of weapons to be used in the ongoing genocide.
It is very important to understand the interconnectedness of all these sectors with the atrocities we are witnessing unfold in Gaza. And more so, it is essential to understand the interconnectedness of what is happening in Gaza with violence and liberation struggles globally because, due in many ways to the role of the private sector, what is happening in Gaza will not stay in Gaza. The weapons, military technology, and surveillance tactics that Israel has used against Palestinians are already being exported around the world, and we will see more of these same horrific tactics to repress other “surplus” populations, or what I refer to in my latest report as “unwanted encumbrances.” We must be diligent in our interrogation of the private sector’s role in Israel because it is not innocent. On the contrary, it is enabling violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to continue with very little consequences for those who are profiting from the maiming and murder of Palestinian children, the forced disappearing of Palestinian men and women, and the ongoing suffering endured by the Palestinian people, including from the fragments of their exile around the world every minute of every day.
This interview was conducted by Mandy Turner and Sonia Boulos who wish to thank Francesca Albanese and her team for being so generous with their time.
