The University of Ottawa held a sold-out event featuring United Nations official Francesca Albanese on Nov. 5 as part of her tour of North American universities.
The event, titled “International Law in Times of Genocide,” included a lecture and panel discussion that discussed Albanese’s findings on the Israel-Palestine conflict, which she has called a “settler-colonial genocide” that has been ongoing since 1948.
Albanese has been the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022.
Nir Hagigi, president of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Carleton, said the event was organized alongside other student groups including Carleton 4 Palestine Coalition, Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton, Palestinian Students Association uOttawa, and INSAF uOttawa.
“We knew that she had to speak here,” Hagigi said. “We believe that Francesca herself has done some really great work.”
Following accusations of antisemitism due of her reports on Israel’s occupation of Palestine, Albanese’s previous event at McGill University earlier in November had to be relocated and was nearly shut down.
“Universities are places where academia and debate is supposed to happen,” Hagigi said. “To try and silence someone because you don’t agree with their views is a little bit ridiculous.”
A member of advocacy club INSAF uOttawa had a similar reaction, believing that Albanese is an important voice in international law. She asked not to include her name due to a desire for privacy and fear of repercussions.
“There’s so much misinformation going around,” she said. “It’s important to hear from people with lived experience.”
She said she believes that Albanese is one of the few voices in international law who is speaking frankly about the issue.
“I’m honoured to speak about Palestine,” Albanese said shortly after taking the stage. “My job is to insist on measures to recognize injustice … and to prevent further abuses.”
She began the lecture by presenting findings from her most recent reports — “Anatomy of a Genocide” and “Genocide as Colonial Erasure” — the latter of which Albanese previously presented at the recent UN General Assembly in New York.
Since March 2024, approximately 42,000 Palestinians have been killed and 96,000 have been injured, with numbers increasing on a daily basis, according to the United Nations.
Approximately 237 UN staff have also been killed throughout the conflict, which Albanese believes should be reason enough to bar Israel from the UN.
She discussed methods the international community should use to support Palestinians, and encouraged attendees to stand up to injustice. Albanese also praised student activists across campuses who have been supporting Palestinian rights.
“It has been the young people that have spoken through to power this year,” Albanese said, in reference to the uOttawa encampment that lasted over two months. “The students … have risked and are risking their future to take a stand.”
A discussion took place with Albanese, Queen’s University international law professor Ardi Imseis and Carleton sociology professor Dr. Nahla Abdo. They covered topics relating to international law, such as Israel’s use of Article 51 of the UN Charter to justify its actions in Gaza as self-defence.
“You start talking about Palestine, and [people] don’t even listen to the facts … the number of people killed,” Albanese said.
The panelists condemned Israel’s recent decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides essential relief, social services and education, from operating in Gaza.
Imseis said under the law of occupation, Israel has the obligation to maintain life and public order in Palestine, which can be done in co-operation with organizations including UNRWA. Imseis said he believes Israel will purposefully starve Gaza once UNRWA aid runs out.
“Once UNRWA sort of shrivels up … the burden then passes to the occupied power,” Imseis said. “I fear that the occupying power knows this, yet cares not.”
The panel fielded questions and statements from attendees, including a tearful speech from a Palestinian attendee, which generated thunderous applause
“I have lost over 100, actually probably over 200 family members,” the attendee said after calling for sanctions against Israel. “I put my faith in people … We cannot wait for the international community to wake up.”
Peter Larson, an attendee and chair of the advocacy and educational organization Canada Talks Israel-Palestine, has been advocating for Palestinian rights for more than a decade. He said he believes that Albanese’s lecture will help give those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause valuable information that they can transfer to other people.
“Israel is committing a genocide, and the Western world, including Canada, is still choosing to look away,” Peter said. “People might say [Albanese is] just preaching to the choir, but what I think instead is that she’s arming the choir.”
Featured Image by Farooq Zamir.
