Albanese, who has been the UN rapporteur for Palestine since 2022, has been critical of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and has faced harsh criticism [GETTY]
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, is calling for submissions on a study on genocide and the media amid the Gaza war.
The research seeks to investigate the killings of and attacks on Palestinian journalists and their families, as well as the narratives played out in the media relating to Israel’s policies and actions towards the people of Palestine.
The study highlights journalists in Gaza being killed at an “unprecedented scale” since October 2023, now rising to 261, following the killing of Amal Mohammed Al-Shamali by an Israeli airstrike.
It also notes how foreign media have been barred from entering the Gaza Strip by Israel.
“Silencing journalists by killing them is the most egregious form of censorship,” the study reads.
“It is not just an attack on individuals but on the international community’s ability to seek the truth and uphold the rule of law.”
The study’s brief notes a pattern of misinformation, including hate speech and dehumanising language in media coverage against journalists reporting on Palestine and Israel, noting Albanese’s August 2024 report on how the Gaza war has created “a global crisis of freedom of expression”.
“Rarely has a conflict challenged freedom of opinion and expression so broadly and so far beyond its borders,” the brief says.
With the help of testimonies and documented accounts, the study will address the killings, destruction of Gaza’s media infrastructure and media narratives that might enable, justify or incite international crimes.
Albanese, who has been the UN rapporteur for Palestine since 2022, has been critical of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and has faced harsh criticism.
The rapporteur faced calls by European officials, including from France, Germany,n and Italy, to resign from her position following a speech at a forum where she was mistakenly quoted describing Israel as “the common enemy of humanity”.
In her speech at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Albanese said: “We now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy and the respect of fundamental freedoms is the last peaceful avenue, the last peaceful toolbox that we have to regain our freedom.”
The United Nations, including its staffers, came to Albanese’s defence, expressing concern over UN officials being subjected to personal attacks.
