Spain awards Francesca Albanese top civilian honour in Madrid

Spain has awarded UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese one of its highest civilian honours in Madrid, recognising her work on alleged violations of international law in Gaza.

Pedro Sánchez, Spain's prime minister, presented Albanese with the Order of Civil Merit at a ceremony on Thursday.

The government said the honour was for her "extensive work in documenting and denouncing violations of international law in Gaza".

Albanese is an Italian human rights lawyer who serves as the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

She has been a vocal critic of Israel's military operations in Gaza and has described them as genocide.

The award comes as Albanese faces criticism and political pressure over her advocacy.

She has faced the prospect of arrest in Germany over her language and has been hit with US sanctions after urging the International Criminal Court to investigate American and Israeli companies and individuals over alleged complicity in human rights violations.

Sánchez has been among the most outspoken European critics of Israel's conduct in Gaza.

He has also written to the EU asking it to block the US sanctions against Albanese, saying they could undermine the independence of institutions central to international justice.

#Spain #FrancescaAlbanese #PedroSánchez #OrderofCivilMerit #Gaza