In a ceremony in Madrid on Thursday, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez awarded UN legal expert Francesca Albanese one of the country's highest civilian honours, the Order of Civil Merit, in recognition of her work documenting and denouncing violations of international law in Gaza.
Honour for Human Rights Work
Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer serving as UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, has been a vocal critic of Israel's military operations in Gaza, which she has described as genocide. She has also called out the international community for failing to prevent and punish acts of torture, genocide, and other serious human rights violations.
The award comes amid controversy, as Albanese has faced potential arrest in Germany over her language and has been sanctioned by the US government for urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate American and Israeli companies and individuals for alleged complicity in gross human rights violations.
Spain's Stance on Gaza
Sánchez, one of Europe's most outspoken critics of Israel's conduct in Gaza, said: "Public responsibility also brings with it a moral obligation not to look the other way. It is an honour to bestow the Order of Civil Merit on a voice that upholds the conscience of the world." He has also written to the EU requesting it block US sanctions against Albanese, arguing they "represent a very worrying precedent that compromises the independent workings of institutions that are essential to international justice."
A day before the ceremony, Albanese visited Madrid's Reina Sofía museum to see Picasso's Guernica, a fierce condemnation of the Nazi bombing of the Basque town in 1937. Standing before the painting, she said the destruction it reflected was "reminiscent of what we have seen" in Gaza. She also dismissed the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as meaningless, stating: "Those in power are pushing for the world to take its eye off Gaza and for it to be forgotten about. And that's what most of the world has done."
Renewed Criticism and Warnings
At another event in Madrid on Wednesday evening, Albanese, who is promoting her book When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words and Wounds of Palestine, renewed her criticism of Israel and the lack of international action to protect Palestinians. In an echo of the controversial slogan "From the river to the sea," she said: "There is a genocide against the entire Palestinian people from the river to the sea: the aim is destruction and the result is also destruction."
She praised the Spanish government for its stance on Gaza and its efforts to help fight US sanctions. The rapporteur also warned that Israel's actions had set a dangerous precedent for eroding international law. "The moment we're in is an apocalypse," she said, as reported by elDiario.es. "A lot of people have woken up but it's not enough. In March 2024, I said that if we didn't stop Israel, there would be a change in the rules of war. And then six months later, that was happening in Lebanon and it's now happening in Iran, and they call it the Gaza doctrine."
