Leading Italian cultural figures urge government to defend UN rapporteur for Palestine

In an open letter addressed to President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, nearly 80 signatories demanded that the government take a stand in support of Albanese, who is an Italian citizen.

The letter was initiated by Tlon, a cultural dissemination project. It called for the immediate lifting of the sanctions imposed by the US and urged the Italian authorities to protect Albanese, who they say is being punished "for fulfilling her UN mandate."

It also called for a joint parliamentary proposal to grant her diplomatic protection.

"Remaining silent on Gaza is complicity," the letter said, stressing the importance of closely monitoring the situation in Gaza, supporting humanitarian, cultural and legal initiatives to protect the rights of the Palestinian people, and promoting a just peace based on international law.

Among the signatories were leading names from Italian cinema including Pierfrancesco Favino, Paola Cortellesi, Stefano Accorsi, Valeria Golino, Luca Zingaretti, Valerio Mastandrea and Claudio Santamaria.

Intellectuals such as Serena Dandini, Lella Costa, Alessandro Bergonzoni, art historian Tomaso Montanari and author Lidia Ravera also supported the initiative.

A mural bearing the message “Hands off Francesca Albanese” was recently painted on a street wall in Rome, reflecting growing public support for the UN official.

On July 9, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Albanese had been added to a sanctions list due to her efforts to directly engage with the International Criminal Court (ICC) “in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries.”

The US had previously urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to dismiss Albanese from her position.

In a statement released on July 1, the US Mission to the UN accused her of making increasingly "antisemitic" and "anti-Israel" remarks and called for her condemnation and removal.

The statement warned that failure to act would not only harm the UN’s credibility but would also force the US to take unilateral steps.

In response, the UN Human Rights Council’s special procedures committee strongly condemned Washington’s decision, defending Albanese and her mandate.