At a side event we organised with our partners at the UN today, 28 March 2024, Ms. Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, discussed the perpetration of genocide by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, and the conditions of the occupation long before it. She noted that Israel's war on Gaza had caused substantial casualties, in addition to imposing terrible conditions of forced starvation upon civilians. Ms. Albanese also addressed the terrible toll of the onslaught on women and children of Gaza, who will bear the burden of rebuilding the fabric of Palestinian society in the years to come.

Ms. Albanese was joined by Rula Shadeed, a prominent Palestine human rights advocate and Co- Director of the Palestinian Institute of Public Diplomacy (PIPD). Ms. Shadeed delivered powerful remarks on the experiences of Palestinian women under the occupation. She underscored the sexual abuse and exploitation they have suffered from Israeli forces, who have routinely flouted international norms in their attempts to commit genocide.

Both speakers called on the international community to cease its tolerance of Israel’s crimes against humanity, denouncing the complicity of Western powers in the ongoing war on Gaza. We join them in their fight for justice for the Palestinian people, and demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The main organisers for this side event were the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD), Association Ma’onah for Human Rights and Immigration, International-Lawyers.org, Law for Palestine, and Geneva International Centre for Justice.

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