Humanity “now has a common enemy,” United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese told the Al Jazeera Forum via video link on Saturday night during her speech condemning Israel.
Albanese, appearing at the same conference as Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, spoke during the panel "The Palestinian Cause in a World Moving Toward Multipolarity."
During the panel, she condemned countries for maintaining relationships and arms trade with the Jewish state and alleged global inaction during the two-year Israel-Hamas War.
“The fact that most of the media in the Western world has been amplifying … the genocidal narrative is a challenge. But at the same time, here also lies the opportunity,” she said. “Because if international law has been stabbed in the heart, it is also true that never before has the global community seen the challenges that we all face.”
She stressed that humanity “now has a common enemy … And the respect for fundamental freedoms is the last peaceful avenue, the last peaceful toolbox that we have to gain our freedom.”
“We need to stand up, we need to do the right thing,” she said.
Albanese inclusion a 'profound failure'
Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, responded to the reveal in his own X post on Thursday, calling Albanese's inclusion a "profound failure" of the system.
"Francesca Albanese exploits her position at the UN to echo terrorist propaganda and antisemitism," Danon's post read. "And if what she has done so far was not enough, she is expected to speak at the Al Jazeera forum alongside the chief murderer who heads the Hamas terrorist organization, Khaled Mashaal."
Ambassador of Israel to the European Union Avi Nir-Feldklein also condemned her appearance, writing,” UN Secretary‑General [Antonio Guterres], How do you justify the UN’s Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, appearing at a forum run by Al Jazeera, the Muslim Brotherhood propaganda arm, alongside the foreign minister of Iran’s terror regime, fresh from killing and executing its own citizens, and alongside a senior leader of Hamas, one of the world’s deadliest terrorist organizations, responsible for the October 7th massacre?”
Araghchi's 'profound question'
Araghchi also dedicated most of his speaking time to discussing “the profound question of our region: Palestine.”
“Palestine is not one issue among many. Palestine is the defining question of justice in West Asia and beyond…The strategic and moral compass of our region,” he claimed. “It is a test of whether international law has meaning, whether human rights have universal value…”
Aragchi did not comment on the domestic issues in Iran, not mentioning the thousands of protesters who have been killed since demonstrators erupted in response to the economic crisis.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not merely war…It is the deliberate destruction of civilian life on a massive scale, it is genocide,” he claimed, adding that Israel’s war has “shaken the heart of the Muslim world.
Aragchi claimed that the “impunity” Israel experienced in Gaza has deeply damaged the global legal order and “Israel’s expansionist project has had a direct and destabilizing impact on the security of all countries in the region.”
He demanded that Israel be sanctioned, the global community put in place an immediate arms embargo, and the suspension of military and intelligence cooperation, as well as an immediate right of return for all Palestinians who left the territory.
Later, turning his attention to the negotiations with the US, Araghchi told Al Jazeera in an interview excerpt that Uranium enrichment is our inalienable right and must continue. Even with bombing, they could not destroy our capabilities. We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment.”
“Iran’s sovereign position is opposition to transferring uranium abroad,” he said.“The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations.”
Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report.