Last week, Francesca Albanese blazed a trail of justice through the Netherlands. Highlight was the prestigious Dries van Agt Lecture she delivered for The Rights Forum. Her performance can be watched back below.
The lecture took place on 12 February in the packed Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague – the ‘international city of peace and justice’ –, where diplomats, politicians, lawyers, human rights organisations, journalists and activists gathered to hear the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. During the event Albanese received the Dries van Agt Award for her unwavering commitment to the international rule of law and the rights of the Palestinian people.
Tickets for the event sold out in two minutes, preventing many from attending. For those who had to miss Albanese’s inspiring performance, The Rights Forum had the event filmed in full. The video can be viewed above and on YouTube.
Others deliberately chose to avoid Albanese, terrified of being confronted with their obligations under international law. Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp (NSC) bluntly refused to meet her, while the right-wing majority of the Foreign Affairs committee withdrew an earlier invitation at the last moment.
This way the UN Special Rapporteur was denied access to the Dutch government. That’s not only an historic low, but also an insult and a dangerous step to take, as Liesbeth Zegveld – human rights lawyer and member of the Advisory Council of The Rights Forum – explains on this site.
Amsterdam based The Rights Forum was founded in 2009 by former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt. Read more about our organisation and work.