UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese: World Has Given Israel a ‘Licence to Torture’ Palestinians, Says Latest UN Report

A United Nations expert has strongly stated that the international community has effectively granted Israel a “licence to torture” Palestinians, describing life in the occupied Palestinian territory as “a continuum of physical and mental suffering”.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, made these remarks while presenting her latest report titled “Torture and Genocide” to the UN Human Rights Council.

In her address, Albanese declared:

“Israel has effectively been given a licence to torture Palestinians, because most of your governments, your ministers, have allowed it.”

She further added that torture “has effectively become state policy” in Israel, moving from hidden practices to open, organised humiliation, pain and degradation sanctioned at the highest political levels.

According to the report, torture extends far beyond prison walls and includes mass displacement, siege, denial of aid and food, unrestrained military and settler violence, and pervasive surveillance across the occupied territories. Albanese described this as a “torturous environment” that destroys the conditions making life meaningful and strips away human dignity.

Key points from the report:

Since October 2023, more than 18,500 Palestinians, including at least 1,500 children, have been arrested in the occupied West Bank.

The report links these systematic practices to what Albanese calls “genocidal violence” and “collective punishment”.

Albanese urged UN member states to “prevent and punish” acts of torture and genocide, warning that continued tolerance of such acts against Palestinians would render international law meaningless.

Note for readers: Israel has strongly rejected the report, calling it politically motivated and accusing Albanese of bias. The Israeli mission to the UN described her work as an “agent of chaos” and “virulent antisemitism”.

This development comes amid ongoing debates at the UN Human Rights Council, where several countries have called for accountability and an end to impunity.

Sources for verification:

Al Jazeera, AFP, RFI (full reports available online)