About the Event

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese will discuss the international legal dimensions of the ongoing war in Palestine/Israel. Albanese will focus on the importance of centering an international law framework which includes International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law and the importance of holding all parties accountable.

The UN Special Rapporteur will also discuss findings from her reporting on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. Her July 2023 report submitted to the UN delves into what she describes as “widespread carceralization” within the occupied Palestinian territory, where arbitrary deprivation of liberty characterizes Palestinian life “behind and beyond bars.” Her upcoming report to the UN General Assembly specifically focuses on the implications of this regime for children and childhood. Emphasizing the imperative of effective international legal measures, the Special Rapporteur explores how legality and accountability can help disentangle this intricate matrix of abuses, suffering, and death.

Francesca Albanese is an Italian international lawyer and academic. On May 1, 2022, she was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 by the Human Rights Council at its 49th session. Albanese is an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, as well as a Senior Advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement for a think-tank, Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD). She has widely published on the legal situation in Israel and the State of Palestine and regularly teaches and lectures on international law and forced displacement at universities in Europe and the Arab region. Ms. Albanese has also worked as a human rights expert for the United Nations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees.