Albanese has joined the world in amplifying the voices of Palestinians under genocide, where Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mainly women and children, with thousands still trapped under the rubble.

Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has ignited an unprecedented global show of solidarity with the Palestinian cause and awareness, especially in the West, once dominated by the Israeli narrative.

For several figures, the pursuit of justice for Palestinians has resulted in significant backlash, especially for Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Doha News sat down with Albanese on the sidelines of the Doha Forum on Saturday, where the discussion tapped into the major defamation campaign against her by Israel’s supporters, including states and figures.

“I’ve been the recipient of defamation, all spurious allegations, unilateral coercive measures imposed on me by the United States. It’s pretty obscene how they are destroying the multilateral system and its values and its pillars in order to protect the state which is committing genocide,” Albanese told Doha News.

“It’s very heavy, but it’s heavier not to do anything in the face of a genocide,” she added.

Israel’s leading ally, the U.S., had imposed sanctions on Albanese in July over allegations of having “biased and malicious activities” while spewing “unabashed antisemitism” and supporting terrorism. 

Such allegations are commonly levelled against anyone who speaks against Israel in an attempt to deflect the attention of the crimes of occupation and genocide it has been committing in Gaza.

“I’m speaking about international law in the occupied Palestinian territory and I act on a mandate that was conferred to me by the United Nations. I’m requested to document and report the violations of international law that take place in the occupied Palestinian territory,” she explained.

Albanese has joined the world in amplifying the voices of Palestinians under genocide, where Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mainly women and children, with thousands still trapped under the rubble.

“I have very critical views on Israel as an apartheid state and it’s fully documented and on member states who are complicit, because they provide diplomatic cover, normalising the dehumanisation of the Palestinians,” Albanese noted.

The absence of proper international action in halting Israel’s crimes against Palestinians under complete impunity became among the top questions asked globally. The genocide in Gaza has also highlighted the application of double standards towards Palestinians by the international community.

“The genocide is called the crime of crime. Not because it’s difficult to prove it, but because it should be difficult to commit it,” she noted, stressing that “a real change requires political change”.

Albanese asserted that a colonial mentality, manifesting as double standards, has led to the dehumanisation of Palestinians in the non-Western world, a pattern also evident in other warzones like Sudan.

“We are still living in a world where profits count more than basic dignity and human rights, and I think that there is a movement today that is rising that wants to change it, and it’s led by workers and students, and it’s also been muted, obscured,” she said.

Fight for accountability

Some of the most major developments witnessed since the beginning of the the genocide in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to hold Israel accountable included South Africa’s 2023 case at the International Court of Justice.

Another major move was seen in 2024, when the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes.

Albanese stressed that she refuses “to be in a world where international law translates into privileges for a few and despair and devastation for the majority”.

“This is the time to make the law meaningful, but there is a broader sense of accountability that is almost synonymous or goes hand in hand with justice, a system that is just for all of us,” Albanese said.

Wrapping up the interview, Doha News asked Albanese to send a message to Palestinians in Gaza, to which she gave a heartfelt response that involved all Palestinians instead, including the diaspora.

She said Palestinians “have awakened a sense of humanity that has no precedent in history” while listing other genocides that occurred including the Srebrenica genocide.

“You will not go down in history as a footnote of a chapter written by someone else[…]The sacrifice of tens of thousands of children is not in vain and use this as an opportunity to continue the struggle for freedom because it’s true that no one is free until Palestine is free,” Albanese said.

“Palestine today epitomises the ultimate struggle for freedom, including from a settler colonial mentality that has dominated for 500 years. This is the time to get rid of it,” she added.