TEHRAN – More than 100 cultural figures, including actors Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem and Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux, have signed an open letter defending United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese against an intensifying campaign for her resignation.
The letter, organized by Artists for Palestine, describes Albanese as a steadfast “defender of human rights” and the “Palestinian people’s right to exist.”
This high-profile support follows a week of sharp diplomatic friction, during which France and Germany condemned her Doha remarks on Gaza as “outrageous” and “antisemitic,” a characterization Albanese rejects as a “manipulation.”
The controversy centers on her critique of the international community’s complicity in what she terms a “genocide” in Gaza, agreeing with many Human Rights organizations and institutions.
While UN Secretary-General António Guterres has distanced the organization from her specific language, Hamas issued a statement on Saturday praising her “firm positions rooted in conscience” and denouncing the pressure against her as a “shameful expression of political hypocrisy.”
Hamas argued that Western capitals are attempting to “terrorize every voice” that seeks justice for Palestinians while keeping Israel “above accountability.”
Albanese, an independent legal expert whose mandate runs through 2028, has been widely praised for her UN role amid Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed over 72,000 Palestinians.
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