South Africa hosted a prized voice on Palestine this past weekend at the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg. UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese attracted significant interest, given what’s happening in Gaza and SA’s position on the genocide.
And Albanese delivered. Known for her outspoken criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza, her lecture was fiery, emotional and unapologetically political.
An Italian human rights expert, Albanese, called out UN member states, urging them to impose arms embargoes, halt trade, and boycott Israel amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Her latest report, Gaza Genocide: a collective crime, delivered remotely to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, accuses 63 states (led by the US, Germany, and the UK) of complicity with the state of Israel through diplomatic cover, arms supplies, and economic ties.
Her proposed fix? Dust off the old anti-apartheid playbook by implementing boycotts, embargoes and real pressure.
The states accused in Albanese’s Gaza complicity report (led by the US, which sanctioned her back in July) have largely responded by attacking her credibility and bias rather than addressing the substance of her allegations.
Sure enough, moments after her address, a sheriff approached Albanese — while on stage in front of a 3500-person audience — and attempted to serve her US court papers. The documents, from two pro-Israel groups, Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and Christians for Israel USA, accused Albanese of defamation for linking them to illegal settlements.
It’s unclear who authorised the move, but SA’s Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi apologised on Sunday. The papers violated South African law, which requires foreign civil process requests to be approved by the Minister and transmitted via the Director-General.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation blasted the disruption, while the National Jewish Advocacy Centre slammed SA for “grossly insulting” the US judicial system.
All this played out against a grim backdrop: Gaza’s fragile US-brokered ceasefire, effective from 10 October, faces collapse. Israel struck northern Gaza on Wednesday killing at least 104 (including 46 children) in overnight bombardments, citing Hamas violations. US officials, including Vice-President JD Vance, insist the ceasefire holds despite “skirmishes.
As Mandela himself once put it: Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.
