GENEVA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations (UN) independent expert said on Monday that Israel has long carried out systematic torture against Palestinians, which has now become Israel's "state doctrine."
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said in a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council that under long-standing "impunity and political cover," Israel's systematic torture of Palestinians has become "a defining instrument of ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory."
She noted that Israel operates "a regime of organized humiliation, pain and degradation, sanctioned at the highest political levels," and added that "a system that has long been used to dominate, degrade and break Palestinians has evolved and hardened into state doctrine."
The UN Committee against Torture condemned Israel in November last year for its "policy of organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment during the reporting period, which had gravely intensified since Oct. 7, 2023."
Albanese urged Israel to immediately cease all acts of torture and ill-treatment, grant access to international investigators and humanitarian organizations, and ensure accountability for those responsible.
In July 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on Albanese, citing her efforts to push the International Criminal Court to take legal action against U.S. and Israeli officials and companies. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson called the U.S. sanctions unacceptable, warning that they set a dangerous precedent. ■
