I followed on the WEBTV of the Italian Parliament, on 6 July 2022, the hearing before the Foreign Commission of Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories of 1967. In her speech I appreciated her competence and knowledge of the situation, and in particular her defense of international law.
I would have expected from the President of the Commission for Foreign and Community Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies, Hon. Piero Fassino, gratitude for such clarity and richness of analysis.
Hon. Fassino, instead, in an aggressive way and inappropriate for the role of President of the Commission, accused Dr. Albanese of “lack of impartiality”, reproaching her for giving an “excess of attention to legal data” and to international legality, forgetting that the ascertainment of international offenses constitutes precisely the basis of the mandate of the UN Rapporteur.
Because these accusations were not enough for him, he went far beyond, accusing the Rapporteur to support the use of Palestinian violence by referring to an interview given by her to Altraeconomia (https://altraeconomia.it/francesca-albanese-il-mio-impegno-per-i-diritti-in-palestina/), which he quoted reading manipulated sentences out of their context.
It is very serious and incorrect that the Hon. Fassino should treat with annoyed arrogance the UN Rapporteur, spreading out his knowledge of the history of the birth of that country, and supporting, for the events of ’47 -’48, the narrative of Israel, which has been questioned even by Israeli historians.
To tell the truth, the Hon. Fassino is not new to the underestimation, or rather the devaluation of international law in the name of realpolitik; on other occasions he had the opportunity to express his “equidistance”, which, a sa matter of fact, reveals his support for those who clearly violate international law, not only by occupying a country militarily, but also by practicing a regime of Apartheid, as it has been now denounced, first by the Palestinians, and then by organizations such as B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, just to name a few.
Claiming the autonomy of politics does not mean, as does the Hon. Fassino, trampling on international law and putting the occupying country – which violates rights and illegally builds colonies confiscating land and resources from the Palestinians – on an equal footing with Palestinian people who have lived under military occupation for more than 55 years.
Hon. Fassino takes the liberty to do without the constitutional provisions and the legal values of the Republic in foreign policy.
I hope the President of the Foreign Affairs Commission will present his formal apology to the Rapporteur, but above all that he will take seriously in consideration UN officials’ reports, asking Israel not to obstruct their investigations, given that so far they have been impeded to carry out their mandate on the ground as they were denied the entry visa to Israel.
I also wonder if President Fassino’s behaviour is not an expression of a certain form of misogyny towards a woman, lawyer Francesca Albanese, who holds a position of extreme importance and delicacy, showing the world the excellences of our country: I want to express to her my solidarity and respect for her moral and intellectual honesty.
Our country, our Parliament need Presidents of the Commission and parliamentarians who live up to their task: implement international law and our Constitution.
Will Hon. Fassino have this courage?
I hope so, also out of respect for his past membership in the party of Togliatti and Berlinguer.
