UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine

"I have condemned the crimes against Israeli civilians, the killing, brutalization and the taking of hostages. And with the same rigour and with the same firm spirit, I have condemned the crimes that Israel has committed against the Palestinian people before, on and after October 7, including what now looks like a genocide."

"Israel has capitalized on the rage, fury and the extreme pain of the Israelis turning them into, many soldiers, into wilful executioners of an extermination plan."

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur

"This exposes the institutional rot of the United Nations and raises questions on if anyone in the government of Canada and those close to it are meeting with her."

"Every self-respecting democracy should be calling for her to be fired."

Conservative party deputy leader Melissa Lantsman

It is logically inconceivable that a United Nations official tasked with neutrality and fairness in judgement would express such a ludicrous claim in support of the slander of Israeli apartheid. In her position representing the Palestinians in the world body she would most certainly be aware that 20 percent of the Israeli population is in fact, Arab Palestinian with full citizenship and all that it implies. How that justifies an apartheid label is beyond belief. 

 

All Arab countries in the Middle East have made themselves Judenrein; they are purely Muslim nations. Theirs truly are apartheid regimes; their minorities are second-class citizens if indeed they have citizenship; none of them have offered citizenship with the exception of Jordan to the dispersed Palestinians set up in 'refugee camps' within their national boundaries. Yet Israel has accepted as citizens with equal rights, Druze, Kurds, Baha'i, Christians, Circassians, and Israeli-Muslims have their own elected representatives in the Knesset (Israeli parliament).

On a speaking tour of North America, Albanese reiterates that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. She complains that she was anticipating a meeting with parliamentary committees and ministers, respecting her position with the world body, but that expectation was not to occur, and she blamed a "very vocal, very virulent, very aggressive" pro-Israel lobby. "What are they fearing? It's a choice not to meet with a UN independent expert". She did, however meet with individual parliamentarians. Charlie Angus among them, a federal New Democrat from Ontario and New Democrat Don Davies from Vancouver.

"This week 11 MPs of the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group met with @francesca.albanese.unsr.opt, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

"She shared her frank perspective on the situation in Palestine and need for countries like Canada to step up."

Salma Zahid, Liberal Member of Parliament

She was a "reluctant chronicler of genocide", she said, arguing that Canada must suspend its free-trade agreement with Israel and agree to accept refugees from Gaza. This Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is ahead of her; some parts of trade have been suspended, if one considers arms trade arguably part of the entire agreement, and Canada has long committed to accepting tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees from Gaza; they doubtless form an identifiable group among those taking part in endless anti-Israel protests in Canada.

 

During the special rapporteur's tour in the United States and Canada there have been calls to ban her from speaking. When Albanese spoke at Columbia University in New York, she told the audience she embraced "violent resistance" before correcting herself and replacing those two words with "armed resistance". In Canada, her scheduled appearance at a conference with Charlotte Kates, co-founder of anti-Israel group Samidoun, recently added to Canada's list of terror entities, was cancelled. Also cancelled was her lecture on international law and genocide at the McGill University law school.

 

Leader of the Geneva-based UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, said Albanese was "one of the most dangerous antisemites in the world", and "a supporter of Hamas terrorism". He should know; his years of investigating the United Nations and its agencies has given him rare insight that he shares widely, holding the world body to account for its canted view on Israel and unbalanced criticism of the Jewish State. A McGill alumnus, Neuer joined with student protesters opposing Albanese's presence on campus.

 

Her scheduled event was to take place in the Maxwell Cohen lecture hall, named after a legal scholar involved with the Canadian Zionist Federation. "He would be turning in his grave. She is perverting the founding principles of the UN and its human rights system, and no one in Canada should be complicit with what she's doing. They shouldn't be legitimizing her, and so I commend McGill Law School for doing the right thing", stated Neuer. She spoke, nonetheless, by invitation at the University of Toronto several days later.

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, left, and Samidoun founder Charlotte Kates, right. Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images // @MEMRIReports

"My statements are not against the Jewish people or even the Israelis. My assessment is on the performance of the Israeli government."

"It could be led by Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, atheists: it wouldn't change. The problem is not the State of Israel -- or its existence -- the problem is that Israel practises apartheid against the Palestinian people."

Francesca Albanese

 

"It is  unfortunate that certain universities have opted for ignorance rather than fostering discovery and safety."

"We call upon those in positions of authority to denounce hate and aggression, ensuring the safety and protection of all Canadians."

Canada holds a significant position on the global stage; however, its failure to safeguard its citizens from external influences of hatred raises concerns regarding its capacity for effective governance."

Neil Oberman, Conservative candidate