Genocide as Colonial Erasure (w/ Francesca Albanese) | The Chris Hedges Report
Oct 29, 2024
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Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, details her findings on genocide against Palestinians. She discusses the systematic violence and destruction faced by the population in Gaza, emphasizing the psychological and physical torture inflicted. Albanese critiques the narratives of self-defense used by Israel and highlights the urgent need for international accountability. The conversation also touches on historic parallels to genocide and the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging listeners to recognize the ongoing struggle for human rights.
Francesca Albanese's report asserts that systematic violence against Palestinians amounts to an ongoing genocide requiring urgent international intervention.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is exacerbated by the destruction of essential infrastructure, leading to dire living conditions and environmental devastation.
The report emphasizes the role of international complicity in enabling genocide, calling for significant action such as arms embargos and sanctions against Israel.
Deep dives
Systematic Violence and Genocide
The recent report highlights that the violence against Palestinians is part of a systematic and intentional genocide that is being accelerated by international complicity. Following the events of October 7th, the mass killings and displacements in Gaza have been portrayed as existential threats to the Palestinian people, with urgent calls for international intervention made to prevent further atrocities. The report emphasizes that if such violence remains unchecked, it endangers the very existence of Palestinians. The documentation of genocidal acts alongside the implications for the future of the Palestinian territories calls for immediate and significant action from the global community.
Environmental and Humanitarian Collapse
The report discusses the extensive human, material, and environmental toll of the violence, marking Gaza as increasingly uninhabitable. It points out that the destruction of essential infrastructure, coupled with mass displacement, has created dire living conditions for millions of Palestinians. Contaminated ecosystems are resultant from the debris and untreated waste, leading to rampant disease spread among the displaced population. This humanitarian crisis illustrates the deliberate attempts to render Gaza unsuitable for human life, making the appeal for international aid more critical.
Legal Definitions of Genocide
Francesca Albanese articulates the complex nature of genocide, explaining that it encompasses various acts aimed at the destruction of a targeted group. The criteria for genocide include not only mass killings but also severe bodily or mental harm, which can manifest through systematic intimidation and deprivation. The report notes that the language used by Israeli officials reflects a dehumanizing narrative, likening Palestinians to an enemy that must be eradicated. Such rhetoric supports a broader pattern of conduct that aligns with established definitions of genocide within international law.
Escalation of Violence in the West Bank
The report underscores that the violent tactics employed in Gaza are being replicated in the West Bank, with alarming statistics showing a surge in attacks against Palestinian civilians. Following October 7th, the significant increase in raids, killings, and arrests, particularly of children, showcases the precarious situation of Palestinians in the region. The systematic oppression faced by West Bank inhabitants reflects an ongoing strategy aimed at reducing Palestinian presence in these territories. This situation calls for a reevaluation of international responses to the developments in Israeli-occupied areas.
International Community's Responsibility
The accountability of the international community is stressed, with the report emphasizing the need for a reassessment of how international laws are applied in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is an urgent call for member states to implement a comprehensive arms embargo and sanctions against Israel to halt the atrocities. Current actions, or lack thereof, by the international community have perpetuated the conditions that allow these violent acts to continue unchecked. The implications extend beyond the Palestinian plight, threatening the integrity of international law and humanitarian principles worldwide.
“The crime of all crimes.” That is how the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda declared genocide in the final judgment of Prosecutor v. Akayesu, the case against the mayor of Taba, Rwanda for crimes against humanity. Today, that crime repeats itself as UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese painfully details in her latest report.
Albanese joins host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to breakdown her report and present the indisputable evidence that Israel is actively committing a genocide on the Palestinian people.
“The acts of killing, the mass killing, the infliction of psychological and physical torture, the devastation, the creation of conditions of life that would not allow the people in Gaza to live, from the destruction of hospitals, the mass force displacement and the mass homelessness while people were being bombed daily, and the starvation—how can we read these acts in isolation?” Albanese asks.
The UN Special Rapporteur clearly outlines the steps and conditions required to meet the classification of genocide, and in the case of Gaza, it’s undeniable. Albanese tells Hedges, “What is relevant in order to establish that there is genocide is not just the intent behind these crimes, enunciated in Article II of the Genocide Convention; it’s the overall intent, specific intent, to destroy the people—the group as a whole, or in part, as such. And what is the group here? It's the Palestinians.”