By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The human rights lawyer and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, on Saturday, called for global solidarity through boycotts and disinvestment.
Albanese addressed the 23rd Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Sandton, Johannesburg.
She opened by saying: “I am deeply honoured and humbled to stand here—on the soil that gave us Nelson Mandela and one of the greatest examples of liberation of modern history.
“I thank the Nelson Mandela Foundation for keeping alive, not only the memory of a man, but the movement he embodied — the struggle for justice and human dignity … whose legacy we celebrate today.
“I am deeply honoured by your invitation to South Africa to deliver this prestigious lecture, reflecting on how Mandela’s belief in the indivisibility of freedom, and his courage to confront power, can guide us through the cruellest injustice of our time.”
Albanese shared the light on the injustices faced by Palestinians, the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
She said the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion last year had already given the world a road map for peace.
“The ICJ was clear — end the occupation, end the exploitation of Palestinian resources, dismantle the colonies and the system of apartheid. Israel was given one year — a very generous term — to withdraw its troops and dismantle its colonies. Instead, the world has looked away.”
The consequences: enforced displacement, starvation as policy, the collapse of medical care, she said.
“What is called a peace plan is deeply inconsistent with fundamental rules of international law. The situation demands responsibility from states that claim to stand for human rights.”
For her, debate is not theoretical. Albanese’s work has made her one of the most targeted UN officials in recent memory — sanctioned by Washington earlier this year for what she describes as the crime of doing her job.
“When a UN mandate holder is punished for calling genocide by its name, it shows how far the system has decayed.”
Her report, From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, draws a direct line between commerce and complicity. It names banks, construction giants, defence contractors and technology firms that profit from the siege.
“The machinery of genocide is not only made of weapons,” she said. “It is designed, financed and insured.”
Neutrality, she warned, has become a moral fiction.
“Humanitarianism has been privatised. Diplomacy has been used to justify genocide. The United States and Israel are leading not only the genocide in Gaza — they are leading the collapse of the multilateral system itself.”
Meanwhile Fullview learnt that foreign government tried to serve Albanese with court papers on Saturday evening after she delivered the lecture.
According to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the matter is now in the hands of South African government.