The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 addressed the Canadian government on Sunday to remind it of its obligations under international law.
Visiting Montreal, Francesca Albanese presented her most recent report entitled Colonial erasure through genocidedenouncing the first colonial genocide broadcast live
which is taking place with regard to the Palestinian people.
The violence that Israel has unleashed against the Palestinians since October 7 does not come out of nowhere, but is part of an intentionally orchestrated campaign at the state level to systematically bring about the forced displacement and long-term replacement of Palestinians.
writes in her report Me Francesca Albanese.
This trajectory risks causing irreparable harm to the very existence of the Palestinian people in Palestine.
The special rapporteur took the opportunity to ask States, including Canada, to respect their obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
.
I call on Canada to comply with its obligations under international law
requested Me Albanese, speaking directly to Ottawa. She invited the federal government to carry out an audit in order to identify all forms of collaboration with Israel, whether at the military, economic, political and other levels.
Mr. Albanese also indicated that he had been in shock
when she learned that Quebec had opened an office in Tel Aviv last June, when tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians had already been killed in IDF military operations.
The silence or, worse, the justification of a small but influential number of states has continued to enable and fuel the arrogance that underlies Israeli conduct as we speak.
It is extremely disturbing to see Member States [de l’ONU] pontificating, questioning and obscuring the meaning of international law, and dehumanizing the victims of the last twelve months
she added.
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Around 15 heads of UN agencies said in a letter on Friday that the situation in northern Gaza was apocalyptic.
Photo : AFP
Mr. Albanese’s intervention took place while thousands of kilometers away, military operations by the Israeli army are intensifying in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem to the detriment of Palestinian civilian lives. .
A term that is not unanimous
The word genocide
is subject to debate within the international community to describe the situation of Gazans.
With the support of several countries, South Africa filed a request with the International Court of Justice to stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. The latter asserts that Israel has engaged, is carrying out and risks continuing to carry out acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza
.
Israel categorically denies that its operations could amount to genocide. Its spokesperson instead accused Hamas of having organized a campaign of genocide against Israelis.
The International Court of Justice has still not ruled.
To date, Israeli strikes have caused more than 41,000 Palestinian deaths, including 17,000 children, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health.
She thus deplored a situation in the Gaza Strip which now metastasizing across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem
.
The visit, organized by the League of Rights and Freedoms (LDL) and the Coalition of Quebec URGENCE Palestine, also had the objective of questioning the Canadian and Quebec governments regarding their position with regard to the government of Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu.
Canada is complicit in the genocide perpetrated by Israel, notably through its positioning as an unwavering ally of Israel, and through its calls for a ceasefire without instituting economic sanctions and without a complete and immediate arms embargo. destination from Israel
declared the spokesperson for the Quebec Emergency Palestine Coalition.
He also mentioned the failure of the Quebec government to its international obligations by opening an office in Tel Aviv in such an appalling context
.
Canada says to itself deeply concerned
Global Affairs Canada said The Canadian Press that Canada is deeply concerned by the conflict in Gaza and its serious humanitarian consequences on civilian populations in particular
.
The rule of law is a founding principle of Canada and a pillar of our democracy. We have been clear: no one is above the law
added Global Affairs Canada. All states are required to respect international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The Canadian government has stated that it continues to call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a rapid increase in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza
.
The Quebec Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie had still not responded to questions from The Canadian Press at the time of writing these lines.
Mr. Albanese plans to travel to other Canadian cities in the coming days. She indicated that neither Ottawa nor Quebec came forward to meet her during her visit and said she was open to meeting them.
