Back فرانشيسكا ألبانيز Arabic Francesca Albanese Catalan Francesca Albanese German Francesca Albanese Spanish Francesca Albanese Basque فرانچسکا آلبانزه Persian Francesca Albanese French פרנצ'סקה אלבנזה HE Francesca Albanese ID Francesca Albanese IO
Francesca Albanese | |
|---|---|
 Albanese in 2025 | |
| United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2022[1] | |
| Preceded by | Michael Lynk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 March 1977 Ariano Irpino, Italy |
| Spouse |
Massimiliano Calì (m. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Pisa |
| Occupation | |
Francesca P. Albanese (Italian pronunciation: [franˈtʃeska albaˈneːse, -eːze]; born 30 March 1977) is an Italian international lawyer and academic.[2] On 1 May 2022, she was appointed United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories for a three-year term.[3] She is the first woman to hold the position.
Albanese holds a law degree with honours from the University of Pisa and a Master of Laws in human rights from SOAS University of London.[4] She is an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, a senior advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement at the non-profit Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD).[2]
As part of her current position as a UN special rapporteur, Albanese has been critical of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories and recommended in her first report that UN member states develop a plan to end the occupation and apartheid. After the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Albanese called for an immediate ceasefire and warned that Palestinians in Gaza were at risk of ethnic cleansing. On 26 March 2024, Albanese reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.
Critics of Albanese have accused her of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.[5] Several human rights groups and numerous scholars of anti-semitism have said the accusations are illegitimate attempts to discredit her.
- ^ "OHCHR | Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967". OHCHR.
- ^ a b "Lunchtime Seminar: 'Resetting the Mind: Settler Colonialism, Apartheid and the Right to Self-determination in Palestine'". University of Galway. 6 November 2022.
- ^ Richard Falk; John Dugard; Michael Lynk (15 January 2023). Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-949762-55-6.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ohchrbiowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "UN Watch calls for sanctions against Francesca Albanese over antisemitism and terrorism support". The Jerusalem Post. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.