Albanian UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories.
A letter of support from a group of Iranian lawyers and jurists to Professor Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur
Dear Mrs. Francesca Albanese
United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory
We, a group of law professors, lawyers, and human rights activists in the Islamic Republic of Iran, feel it is our duty to express sincere gratitude for your courageous positions, thorough analyses, and ethical and legal steadfastness in the face of the ongoing human tragedies in occupied Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Your well-documented and bold reports, which expose the Israeli occupation regime's flagrant crimes in the language of international law and based on authoritative global documents, are not only a testament to an awakened human conscience, but also a sign of Your Excellency's independence and honor as a jurist and law professor. Undoubtedly, the pressure, threats, and sanctions imposed against you by the ruling governments and supporters of the occupation are clear proof that you have succeeded in being the voice of oppression and the Palestinian people's quest for justice.
The Zionist regime's crimes over more than seventy-five years of unjust occupation, from displacing millions of Palestinians to genocide, imprisonment, and systematic repression, and now during the war on Gaza, which has led to the killing of over 60.000 civilians, including thousands of women and children, and the complete destruction of vital infrastructure, constitute clear examples of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Yet, we witness the silence, inaction, and even complicity of some international powers and institutions in the face of these tragedies.
It is even more deplorable that even in cases where the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court first accuses the Israeli Prime Minister of committing war crimes, these convictions are met with contempt and threats from the US government and some European countries. This duplicitous approach to justice not only undermines the independence of international institutions but also undermines nations' trust in the international legal system. This is not the first time such behavior has been observed against independent rapporteurs; the pressure and accusations against figures like Richard Falk, the previous UN Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, were of the same nature and point to a structural effort to silence the voice of truth on the Palestinian question.
We, as members of the legal community, while fully supporting the oppressed Palestinian people and their legal and humane actions and positions, declare that resisting injustice is the most undeniable criterion of human and professional honor. As you yourself said: "Sanction is not a sign of power, it is a sign of guilt."
We ask God to always be His ally and supporter on this difficult but honorable path, and we also expect the world community to not only listen to the voice of truth, but to protect it.
With respect and solidarity
A group of Iranian jurists and human rights activists