Francesca Albanese
Italian legal scholar (born 1977)
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Francesca Paola Albanese (Italian: [franˈtʃeska ˈpaːola albaˈneːze, -eːse]; born 30 March 1977) is an Italian legal scholar and expert on human rights. She has served as the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 1 May 2022; initially appointed for a three-year term, she was confirmed for another three years in April 2025. She is the first woman to hold the position.
30 March 1977
Francesca Albanese | |
|---|---|
Albanese at the Hague Group emergency meeting in Bogotá, July 2025 | |
| United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2022[1] | |
| Preceded by | Michael Lynk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francesca Paola Albanese 30 March 1977 Ariano Irpino, Italy |
| Spouse | Massimiliano Calì |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Pisa (LMG) SOAS University of London (LLM) |
| Occupation | Academic |
As part of her 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 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Albanese called for an immediate ceasefire and warned that Palestinians in Gaza were at risk of ethnic cleansing. In March 2024, Albanese reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to genocide. Pro-Israel organizations, including the US Government, have accused Albanese of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias, and have called for her removal. Several human rights groups and numerous scholars of antisemitism have said the accusations are illegitimate attempts to discredit her. The UN published a report by Albanese in June 2025 stating that many corporate entities, including Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., and Amazon, were enabling and profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories and the Gaza genocide. In response, the United States under the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Albanese under Executive Order 14203 naming her a "specially designated national", forbidding all US persons and companies from doing business with her.
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. She was an affiliate scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University until late 2025, when the University stated it was ended due to the US sanctions. She is a senior advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement at the non-profit Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development.
Early life and education
Francesca Paola Albanese was born in Ariano Irpino, a town in the Campania region of southern Italy,[2] on 30 March 1977.[3][4]
Albanese holds a full Italian law degree (LMG with honours from the University of Pisa, which allows her to practice law in Italy).[5][6] In a May 2025 interview, she said that she had studied jurisprudence and had not taken the bar examination because she was more interested in human rights and did not want to practice law in Italy.[7]
She later earned a Master of Laws in human rights from SOAS University of London.[8][9]
Career
Albanese was an affiliate scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University until late 2025, when the University stated it was ended as a result of US sanctions imposed on her.[10] She is[when?] a senior advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement at the non-profit Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD),[8] where she co-founded the Global Network on the Question of Palestine.[8] In 2020, she and Lex Takkenberg wrote the OUP-published Palestinian Refugees in International Law.[11]
Albanese worked for a decade as a human rights expert for the UN, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees.[12] During this period, she advised the UN, governments, and civil society in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions on human rights and their application and norms, particularly for vulnerable groups like refugees and migrants. She holds lectures on international law and forced displacement in both European and Arab universities, as well as conferences and public events about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[8]
UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories
On 1 May 2022 Albanese was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories for a three-year term.[13] Albanese is the second Italian (after Giorgio Giacomelli) and the first woman to be appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.[14] Her appointment generated some controversy due to comments she made criticising the US and Europe during the 2014 Gaza War. Albanese said the United States was "subjugated by the Jewish lobby", which she later said she regretted, and Europe by a "sense of guilt about the Holocaust", and that both "condemn the oppressed – the Palestinians" in the conflict.[15] The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Michele Taylor, the US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, suggested the comments were antisemitic.[16] Albanese said that she had never been antisemitic and that her criticism of Israel is related to its occupation of Palestinian territories.[15][17][18]
On 18 October 2022, Albanese recommended in her first report that UN member states develop "a plan to end the Israeli settler-colonial occupation and apartheid regime".[19] The report concluded: "The violations described in the present report expose the nature of the Israeli occupation, that of an intentionally acquisitive, segregationist and repressive regime designed to prevent the realization of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination."[20]
During the 30th Meeting of the 53rd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council in July 2023, Albanese presented a report accusing Israel of turning the West Bank into an "open-air prison". The report said that since 1967, more than 800,000 Palestinians, including children as young as 12, had been arrested and detained by Israeli authorities.[21] Briefing journalists, Albanese said: "There is no other way to define the regime that Israel has imposed on the Palestinians – which is apartheid by default – other than an open-air prison."[22] Israel was not present for the presentation but rejected the findings.[22]
In August 2024, Albanese was one of many UN Special Rapporteurs who signed an open letter to the "International community" on the third anniversary of the Taliban taking change in Afghanistan. They were concerned that the regime's human-rights abuses particularly against women and girls may become accepted. They encouraged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take urgent action against those responsible.[23]
Albanese was confirmed in the position for another three years in April 2025.[24]
Gaza war
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In 2023, after the outbreak of the Gaza war, Albanese called for an immediate ceasefire, warning that "Palestinians are in grave danger of a mass ethnic cleansing."[25] She further stated that the international community must "prevent and protect populations from atrocity crimes", and that "accountability for international crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces and Hamas must also be immediately pursued."[25]
In February 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron described the October 7 attacks as "the largest antisemitic massacre of our century". Albanese responded on X (formerly Twitter) that "the victims of the October 7 massacre were killed not because of their Judaism, but in response to Israeli oppression". The French Foreign Ministry condemned her remarks and the Israeli government declared Albanese persona non grata in Israel and denied her future entry to the country. In response to the reactions, Albanese said: "I regret that some interpreted my tweet as 'justifying' Hamas's crimes, which I have condemned strongly several times. I reject all forms of racism, including antisemitism. However, labeling these crimes as 'antisemitic' obscures the real reason they occurred."[26][27][28]
On 26 March 2024, Albanese presented the report "Anatomy of a Genocide" before the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva,[29] stating "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel is intentionally committing at least three "genocidal acts"[29]: paragraph 5 against the Palestinians as a group in Gaza proscribed in the Genocide Convention:
- "Killing members of the group";[29]: paragraphs 22–26
- "Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group";[29]: paragraphs 27–31
- "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part".[29]: paragraphs 34–45
Albanese called for sanctions and an arms embargo.[30] She was one of the many UN experts who spoke out against the sale of arms to Israel in June 2024 to be used in the conflict in Gaza. The experts cautioned arms suppliers and finance companies that they would be implicated in human rights violations. The signatories to the warning included special reporteurs Paula Gaviria Betancur, Tlaleng Mofokeng, and Margaret Satterthwaite.[31] Furthermore, she points to the settler colonial context of genocidal practices resulting in "destruction and replacement of Indigenous peoples",[29]: paragraph 9 and recommends the "reconstitution of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid" to address the situation in Palestine.[29]: paragraph 97e
During a briefing on the international legal responsibilities for preventing genocide, Albanese said that given the way Israel was behaving, it was time to consider suspending their credential as a member state under Article 6 of the UN Charter.[32] In an interview with the Middle East Eye in November 2024, Albanese described Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom David Lammy as a genocide denier, and stated that the British government had done nothing to prevent Israel's atrocities in Gaza.[33] In March 2025, Betar, a Jewish far-right organization, threatened Albanese with a pager attack during her visit to London. The group posted a statement on Twitter that said "Join us to give Francesca a [pager emoji] in London on Tuesday."[34] The pager emoji is a reference to the 2024 pager attacks in Lebanon.[34] Albanese said that she and her family had received death threats.[35]
Albanese criticized the Trump administration for welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States and maintaining friendly relations with him, despite the fact that an arrest warrant has been issued for Netanyahu as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine.[36] In June 2025, Albanese said Israel had killed more than 200 Palestinian journalists because they were documenting the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.[35] She also said EU officials like Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas were complicit in Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war.[35]
The UN published a report by Albanese in June 2025 stating that corporate entities were enabling and profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories and the Gaza genocide.[37][38] The report listed 48 corporations, including Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., and Amazon,[39] which it said are helping Israel displace Palestinians in breach of international law.[40]
Accusations of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias
In February 2023, 18 members of the United States Congress called for Albanese to be removed from her position saying that she has demonstrated a consistent bias against Israel.[41] In July 2024, UN Watch director Hillel Neuer requested Volker Türk (the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) to investigate Albanese's trip to Australia and whether flights during that trip were funded by pro-Palestinian groups,[42][43] including the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, Free Palestine Melbourne, and Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network.[44]
That same month Albanese expressed support on X for a post by former UN human rights official Craig Mokhiber, that compared Prime Minister Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Mokhiber's post juxtaposed a photo of a crowd welcoming Hitler with Nazi salutes and a photo of Netanyahu being welcomed by the US Congress. Mokhiber captioned his post with the words "History is always watching" and Albanese responded with "This is precisely what I was thinking today".[45] In response, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated, "It is clear [Albanese] is not fit for this or any position at the UN."[46] Responding to the criticism, Albanese said, "The Memory of the #Holocaust remains intact and sacred thank[s] to people of conscience worldwide. Institutional rants and outburst[s] of selective moral outrage will not stop the course of #Justice, which is finally in motion."[47]
Responding to two reports presented to the United nations in October 2024, the World Jewish Congress accused Albanese of repeatedly engaging in Holocaust inversion by drawing comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, calling her statements "not only deeply offensive, but a gross distortion of history."[48] US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield posted on X the US belief that Albanese is "unfit for her role. The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights."[49] Albanese said in response to the accusation of antisemitism, "Antisemitism and discrimination against Jews as Jews is gross. But frankly I couldn't care less if Israel were run by Jews, Muslims, Christians or atheists... All I want is for Israel to conduct itself in line with international law."[50]
On 11 February 2025, the Dutch House of Representatives cancelled an invitation for Albanese to visit the House on 13 February, on account of her statements about the Gaza War.[51] On 20 June 2025, the Trump administration sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, calling for her removal as rapporteur on Palestinian rights following what they alleged was "antisemitism and support for terrorism”.[52]
Al Jazeera address video
In February 2026, a video was produced by the pro-Israel lobby group UN Watch, in which portions of an address by Albanese at an Al Jazeera forum are spliced and edited together to suggest Albanese said Israel was the "common enemy" of humanity.[53] Albanese did not make the fabricated statement in the address, but rather criticized Western inaction during the Gaza genocide.[54] On the basis of the alleged remarks, the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic,[55] Germany,[56] and France called for the removal of Albanese. Albanese responded that she was referring to "the system that has enabled the genocide in Palestine" as the "common enemy".[53] The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France "unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks" attributed to Albanese, arguing that they were directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but "at Israel as a people and as a nation."[57] Barrot also accused Albanese of adding to "a long list of scandalous positions," alleging that she is a political activist who has previously justified the October 7 attacks and "compared Israel to the Third Reich."[57]
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described her position as "untenable".[53] Petr Macinka, the foreign minister of the Czech Republic, citing the "common enemy of humanity" remarks, also urged her to step down.[55] Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also condemned her conduct and positions, writing that they "do not reflect those of the Italian government".[58] Austria's Foreign Minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, posted a tweet condemning Albanese for using language that "undermines the impartiality and highest standards that the role of a UN representative requires,"[59] but later deleted that post without explanation.[60]
Several lawmakers likewise urged that Albanese be stripped of her UN mandate with immediate effect, citing the ostensible comments – that Albanese did not make – from the edited video of the conference.[54][57] Amnesty International condemned the attacks on Albanese for being based on a deliberately truncated video, and called on the ministers who attacked her to apologize and retract the calls for Albanese's resignation.[61] Over 100 prominent artists, including Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Annie Ernaux and Annie Lennox, signed an open letter supporting Albanese.[53]
Albanese's comments were reviewed by a United Nations panel of human rights experts. The panel found that the "vicious attacks" on Albanese were based on a doctored video of her speech. It criticised the "Ministers of certain States [who] rely on manufactured facts and criticise Ms Albanese for statements that she never made". It said that, instead of attacking Albanese, the Ministers "should join forces to hold accountable, including before the International Criminal Court, leaders and officials accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza".[62]
Support for Albanese
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In December 2022, sixty-five scholars of antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Jewish studies issued a statement,[63][64] which read: "It is evident that the campaign against [Albanese] is not about combating today's antisemitism. It is essentially about efforts to silence her and to undermine her mandate as a senior UN official reporting about Israel's violations of human rights and international law."[18] In late 2022, Defence for Children International led 116 human rights and civil society organisations and academic groups in issuing a statement in her support.[65]
In January 2023, a statement was issued in defence of Albanese by a number of human rights organizations, academic institutions, and other civil society organizations.[66] The statement concluded by stating: "We commend UNSR Francesca Albanese's tireless efforts toward the protection of human rights in the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territories] and in raising awareness of the alarming daily violations of Palestinian rights. We call on third States to strongly condemn this politically-motivated attack on the Special Rapporteur's mandate and to compel Israel to comply with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations."[67][68]
Amid continuing efforts to have Albanese removed from her post, Amnesty International Italy published on 26 April 2023 a letter of support signed by dozens of Italian rights groups, MPs, jurists, and academics.[69] On 27 April, three former holders of the position (John Dugard, Richard Falk, and Michael Lynk) publicly urged the UN to defend Albanese and said that she has been "the target of attacks that have been 'slanderous' and 'personal'". On 3 May, Albanese tweeted that she "saw too many deaths [of Palestinians], too much arbitrariness, zero accountability" and faced accusations for her work in addressing these abuses.[70][71]
In 2025, there were calls to nominate Albanese for the Nobel Peace Prize. A campaign on Avaaz to award her with the Prize reached over 400,000 signiatures.[72][73] Albanese was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, an Irish member of the EU Parliament;[74] Matjaž Nemec, a Slovenian politician;[75] the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet;[76] and the Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) has voiced their intention to do so.[77] At a 2025 meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, she was met with solidarity from the Global South member states for her activities. She was also voted in to keep her position as UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories until 2028.[78] Florence considered granting Albanese honorary citizenship to recognise her support for Palestine. The vote was shelved after members of the governing majority said there were insufficient votes to approve the measure, following opposition from Mayor Sara Funaro, who argued that the honour should be reserved for figures who "unite and do not divide."[79][80][81]
Sanctions by the United States
In July 2025, the United States Department of the Treasury under the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Albanese under Executive Order 14203, naming her a "specially designated national", thus forbidding all US persons and companies from doing business with her, except as necessary to the wind down of any transaction involving Albanese until 8 August 2025.[3][82] The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was quoted as saying: "Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated".[82]
Georgetown University stated in December 2025 that Albanese was no longer an affiliate scholar in compliance with the sanctions.[10]
Belgium foreign minister Maxime Prévot criticised the sanctions.[83] Albanese called the sanctions "obscene" and said that she was being punished for her "pursuit of justice".[84] The move was criticised by Amnesty International as a "disgraceful affront to international justice".[85] The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal praised the move as overdue.[86]
Awards
In April 2023, Albanese received the International Stefano Chiarini Award (Italian: Premio Internazionale Stefano Chiarini) in recognition of her journalistic work covering Palestine and the Middle East.[87][88]
She was chosen as the Passblue UN Person of the Year for 2024. Passblue said Albanese and the other nominees "demonstrated strong leadership in 2024 to uphold the UN Charter, advocate for universal human rights, act to ensure international humanitarian law and promote peace and nonviolence throughout the world".[89]
On 12 February 2025, Albanese received the Dutch "Dries van Agt Prize" from The Rights Forum, which honors individuals and organizations that make a strong commitment to human rights and international law in Palestine.[90] In March 2025, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Albanese received the Iranian "Dr. Taghi Ebtekar Award" for her work on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and her outstanding documentation and reporting of the abuses taking place there.[91] On 2 April 2026, Albanese received a joint honorary doctorate from three Flemish universities: the University of Antwerp, Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.[92][93]
