'The whole occupied Palestinian territory is a prison controlled from outside and inside,' explained Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories during her lecture at Erasmus University Rotterdam’s Woudestein Campus on 14 February 2025.
In her talk, which was followed by some 500 people in the room and 1000 online, Albanese highlighted the findings of her latest report, released on 1 October 2024 and discussed accountability mechanisms in general at both domestic and international levels.
This event was organized by a consortium of colleagues at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, across most EUR faculties and all four campuses. It was co-sponsored by the Humanitarian Studies Centre and the Legal Mobilization Platform and facilitated by Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Aware of the sensitivities surrounding this issue, the organizers made a special effort to reserve places for a wide range of students and staff, including those who had expressed concern about the event.
Rewatch Francesca Albanese's talk
About the speaker
Established in 1993, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 is mandated 'to assess the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, report publicly about it, and work with governments, civil society and others to foster international cooperation.'
International lawyer and academic Francesca Albanese has been the mandate holder since May 2022. She has produced five, thoroughly documented reports about the human rights situation in the occupied territories. These reports have drawn attention to the legal responsibilities of other States, international organizations, and more recently, of private actors, calling for responses that end Israel’s military operations in Gaza and ensure the accountability of perpetrators of international crimes.
Albanese has been named 'Overall UN Person of the Year' 2025, by PassBlue, a women-led foundation sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment, Open Society Foundation and others. She was also named Person of the Year (2025) by the high-quality Spanish magazine Revista Contexto, CTXT.
Moderators and organizers
Professor Jiska Engelbert moderated the event. She is based at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences – where, among other roles, she leads the team 'Public Issues & Imaginaries'. Alongside her appointment at ESSB, Jiska is a Endowed Professor at Leiden University in Leadership in digital transitions, digital innovations and transformation of public services.
The organizers included:
- Dr Siobhan Airey, Assistant Professor, Innovation of Public Law at EUR’s School of Law and lead in the UNIC-funded engaged research project on the law and governance of Climate Justice, based in Noordereiland, Rotterdam.
- Dr Isabel Awad, Associate Professor at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication and theme leader 'Inclusive cities and diversity' at the Vital Cities and Citizens excellence initiative.
- Dr Jeff Handmaker, Associate Professor of Legal Sociology at EUR’s International Institute of Social Studies and at the School of Law at the University of Witwatersrand School of Law in South Africa, lead of the Legal Mobilization Project and co-founder and member of the Legal Mobilization Platform.
