The U.N. Expert on Palestine Who Captured the World’s Attention
Also, you’ve got to do it for free; it’s a volunteer position.
At Lynk’s urging, Albanese applied and won the appointment. In many ways, Lynk said, she is typical of her predecessors: an expert in international and human rights law, with an academic pedigree. But there are differences. Most notably, she is the first woman to hold the post since its creation in 1967. But perhaps more important is her skill as a communicator. “She’s mastered how to speak to the generation under the age of 35 who believes in justice, and who sees what’s been going on with respect to Israel and Palestine as a huge, broader stain with respect to human rights,” Lynk told me. “She’s gained, if you like, a following, because of how adept she is with social media. I think that’s given her a global impact and a presence beyond virtually any special rapporteur. She’s been not only a breath of fresh air on Palestine, but a breath of fresh air for the U.N. human rights system as well.”
As challenging as the role was when Albanese started, on May 1, 2022, it became exponentially more so on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants breached the “Iron Wall” security perimeter that encircled Gaza, killing some 1,200 Israelis, most of them noncombatants, and taking some 250 hostages. Israel promptly initiated a ferocious military campaign. Officially the stated goal of the operation was to eradicate Hamas and free the hostages. But the widespread devastation unleashed on Gaza—killing, maiming, displacing, and starving many thousands of Palestinians who had no connection to the attack whatsoever, along with the destruction of the area’s housing, hospitals, universities, and essential infrastructure; the repeated bombing of “safe zones”; and the attacks on U.N. personnel, aid workers, journalists, and doctors, indicated an operation more brutal and far-reaching than a typical military engagement. It was, Albanese became convinced, an unfolding case of genocide.