Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur, alleges Israel has been given a license to torture Palestinians, as outlined in her latest report to the UN Human Rights Council.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council stating that the world has given Israel a license to torture Palestinians.
In her report titled 'Torture and genocide', Albanese asserted that torture has effectively become state policy in Israel, extending beyond interrogation rooms to include mass displacement, siege, denial of aid, and unrestrained violence.
Details of the Report
The report describes the occupied Palestinian territory as a space of collective punishment, where actions like pervasive surveillance and settler violence contribute to long-term mental and physical suffering for the population.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, have resulted in at least 72,263 deaths and 171,944 injuries.
In the occupied West Bank, the report notes that Israeli authorities have arrested more than 18,500 Palestinians since October 2023, including at least 1,500 children as of February.
Albanese called on UN member states to prevent and punish acts of torture and genocide, emphasizing that such violations are increasingly used as part of actions against the Palestinian people.
Israel’s mission to the UN criticized the report, describing Albanese as an 'agent of chaos' and accusing her of antisemitism and supporting terrorist organizations.
