Italians Call for Nobel Peace Prize for Francisca Albanese
Francesca Albanese. X/ @DiarioParadigma
July 14, 2025 Hour: 11:09 am
Cultural, academic, and artistic communities rally behind the UN Rapporteur after U.S. sanctions.
Italians are mobilizing in support of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese following sanctions imposed on her by Washington. They are also calling for her to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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As of midday Monday, more than 83,500 people had signed the petition supporting the official nomination of Albanese—a renowned Italian jurist highly critical of the genocide being perpetrated by Israel, with the support of the United States and other Western nations, against the Palestinian population in Gaza.
Tlon, the organization behind the petition, is also demanding diplomatic protection for the U.N. rapporteur, saying Albanese has been the target of “a defamatory media campaign promoted even through paid advertisements by the Israeli government, in response to her reports on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
The petition urges Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Italian Parliament to formally nominate Albanese for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The text reads, “A bloodthirsty war criminal proposes the Nobel Peace Prize for a deranged madman who sanctions UN human rights rapporteur Francesca Albanese. This happens with the silence of Europe and Italy, the country of which she is a citizen, and its government. Vile world!
“Italian institutions have an obligation to respond to those attempting to silence a courageous voice. It is intolerable that those who are denouncing an ongoing genocide are punished and sanctioned, while those committing it go unpunished,” the petition states.
Italy’s cultural, academic and artistic communities have rallied behind Albanese. More than 80 prominent figures have signed an open letter in her defense.
Among the signatories are film actors such as Pierfrancesco Favino, Stefano Accorsi, Valeria Golino, Luca Zingaretti, Valerio Mastandrea and Claudio Santamaria; cultural figures such as Serena Dandini, Lella Costa and Alessandro Bergonzoni; intellectuals including art historian Tomaso Montanari and writer Lidia Ravera; as well as musicians like Marracash, Francesca Michielin and Cosmo.
“We cannot allow sanctions against those documenting human rights violations to become tools for perpetuating impunity. Silence on Gaza is complicity,” the letter reads.
Albanese has stated she has no intention of “remaining silent about the genocide in Gaza,” despite U.S. efforts to “intimidate her with mafia-style tactics.” She called the sanctions “a regrettable response” to her most recent report.
In that document, the U.N. rapporteur identified 45 private companies that are “profiting from the destruction of innocent lives” in Gaza, including U.S. firms Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM.
In announcing the U.S. sanctions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Albanese is “unfit” to serve as special rapporteur because she “has expressed blatant antisemitism, support for terrorism, and open disdain for the U.S., Israel and the West.”
Nevertheless, the United Nations has described the U.S. sanctions as “a dangerous precedent,” while Amnesty International has called them “shameful and vindictive.”
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
