THE UN’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories has accused David Lammy of being a "genocide denier".
Speaking with Middle East Eye, Francesca Albanese hit out at comments made by the Foreign Secretary in October, where he – just as Prime Minister Keir Starmer did at PMQs on Wednesday – denied that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.
“Those terms were largely used when millions of people lost their lives in crises like Rwanda, the second world war and the Holocaust, and the way that they are used now [in Gaza] undermines the seriousness of that term,” Lammy said.
The UN official took serious issue with this argument.
She asked: “Excuse me, I can't believe that. He's a lawyer, isn't he?"
The interviewer then confirmed Lammy was, indeed, a human rights lawyer.
“I'm surprised because the first instinct of a lawyer would be to look at the legal documents, the jurisprudence,” Albanese added.
“David Lammy should read the Article 2.4 of the Genocide Convention, which refers to an act of genocide that doesn't even involve the killing of one person, or the fifth [article].
“I mean, there is genocide through forceful transfer of children. This is how the genocide in Australia has been mainly perpetrated, as well as in Canada.”
She added: “While David Lammy is not the only genocide denier, I think that it's particularly serious when it comes from someone who has a position of authority, who carries an even greater authority because he’s a man of the law.”
Albanese then clarified that genocide is defined by Article 2 of the Genocide Convention, “not personal opinions”.
“It's the intent, the determination to destroy a group – in all or in part – through several, or even one of these acts: killing, inflicting severe bodily or mental harm, and the creation of life conditions which would bring about the destruction of the group,” she said.
“And look at Gaza today. Gaza has been destroyed. Most of the civilian infrastructure, arable land, all universities, the civil registry, the national archive, the historical and religious cultural heritage, the medical infrastructure, all schools.”
She then asked: “How does David Lammy call this? Is it a war? I'm very concerned because this is not a war. If this is a war, we are entering a new stage where war doesn't respect anything that has to do with civilian life, and this needs to be pushed back against.
“Whatever ignorance exists, it can be resolved with a good reading of what genocide is and how it has been commented on and developed as a concept through international jurisprudence.”
The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.
