“Atrocities” in Gaza | UN special rapporteur urges Canada to act

A new report unveiled by United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese paints a portrait of the “horrors” suffered by the Palestinian people. She calls on Canada to act, “to prevent new atrocities which will leave even deeper scars in the history of humanity.”

It was during a press briefing organized by the Quebec URGENCE Palestine Coalition this Sunday in Montreal that Francesca Albanese presented her new report. Entitled “Colonial erasure through genocide”, it was published on 1^is last October.

The toll it draws is nearly 42,000 dead and 96,000 injured – although it indicates that these figures are probably underestimated. Among them, at least 13,000 children were killed, including more than 700 babies.

She denounces the inaction of Western governments in the face of the “atrocities” suffered by the Palestinian people, who “continue to be left to die like animals”, in comparison with the situation in Ukraine.

A genocide in progress

Invited by The Press Commenting on this new report, Marie Lamensch, member of the Observatory of Multidimensional Conflicts of the Raoul Dandurand Chair, indicated that it showed that the situation in Gaza could “increasingly” be qualified as genocide.

Also read “Francesca Albanese accuses Israel of committing several “acts of genocide””

“What is the point of not delivering humanitarian aid to these people? “, she says. “And whenever Israel kills civilians, it’s always the same excuse of self-defense. Eventually, it ends up looking like a genocidal speech. »

Like Francesca Albanese, she deplores that Canada does not take a stronger position on this subject, to recognize the genocide in progress.

Canada and Quebec called to act

Francesca Albanese called on Canada to stop following its “Big Brother”, the United States, in its decisions regarding Israel.

She urged him to take concrete measures, such as implementing an arms embargo and imposing sanctions, recognizing Israel’s violations of international law and deploying an international presence in Palestine to protect the population.

Contacted on this subject, Global Affairs reiterated by email that “no one is above the law. All States are required to respect international law.”

Francesca Albanese also said she experienced a “shock” when she learned that Quebec had opened an office in Tel Aviv, at the heart of the conflict. Contacted on this subject, the office of the Minister of International Relations Martine Biron did not wish to react.

The United Nations special rapporteur also deplores the fact that the provincial and federal governments did not want to meet her, according to her. At the time these lines were written, Quebec and Ottawa had not yet responded to this request.