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| Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 |
Gaza genocide: A crime Israel did not commit alone, says Special Rapporteur
28 October 2025
CAPE TOWN - Israel’s genocide in Gaza is part of an international system of complicity, a UN expert warned today.
“International law is clear: States must neither aid nor assist in the internationally wrongful acts of others, and must prevent and punish international crimes,” Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 told the General Assembly. “This requires immediately suspending all military, economic, and diplomatic ties with Israel until its crimes cease, and pursuing justice for the survivors by holding perpetrators and accomplices accountable.”
Albanese addressed the General Assembly from Cape Town, South Africa — after US sanctions prevented her from presenting her report in New York.
The Special Rapporteur’s new report, “Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime,” reveals how influential Third States — with the acquiescence of many others — have provided diplomatic, military, economic and ideological support to Israel, entrenching, rather than dismantling Israel’s settler colonial apartheid, now turned genocidal.
“No State can credibly claim to uphold international law while arming, supporting, or shielding a genocidal regime,” Albanese said.
The report shows how Third States are breaching their duty to prevent genocide, apartheid, and territorial conquest by supplying Israel with aid, arms, and political cover despite clear evidence of genocidal intent. Citing rulings from the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, Albanese said that the world has been on notice since at least 2004 — yet impunity has only deepened.
“States knew. States had the means to act,” the Special Rapporteur said. “International law does not allow the luxury of feigned ignorance, delay or rhetorical acrobatics.”
Instead, the report claims, States have obscured, ignored, and even profited from Israel’s violations of international law, through military, economic, diplomatic and even “humanitarian” channels.
Albanese’s report showed how military cooperation—through arms trade and intelligence sharing—has fuelled Israel’s war machine including during the genocide. While the US and Germany alone have provided over 90 per cent of Israel’s arms imports, at least 26 States have supplied or facilitated arms and components, and many others bought weapons tested on Palestinians.
“Trade and investment have sustained—and profited from—Israel’s economy,” the Special Rapporteur said. Between 2022 and 2024, exports of electronics, pharmaceuticals, energy, minerals, and dual-use items, totalling $474 billion, helped Israel finance its military operations. About one-third of this trade is with the EU, while North America and several Arab States continue deepening economic ties.... READ MORE https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/gaza-genocide-crime-israel-did-not-commit-alone-says-special-rapporteur