Should we call it
genocide?
Speakers

Ahmed Abofoul
is a Palestinian international lawyer and a legal researcher, currently serving as the Legal Advisor at Al-Haq, the oldest Palestinian human rights organization. Born and raised in the Gaza Strip, he has firsthand experience in the region's challenges. Abofoul holds an LLM in Public International Law from Leiden University and has contributed to international legal scholarship, including research assistance for submissions to the International Criminal Court regarding the Situation in the State of Palestine. He has been a vocal advocate for accountability concerning actions in Gaza, emphasizing the urgency for international legal mechanisms to address alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. In 2023, Abofoul delivered the Cherif Bassiouni Memorial Lecture, underscoring his commitment to justice and human rights.
_4_edited.jpg)
Claudio Francavilla
is the Associate Director for EU Advocacy at Human Rights Watch, focusing on EU foreign policy related to human rights, particularly in the Middle East and Asia. He engages with EU institutions and member states to raise awareness on human rights abuses and urges EU action to address them.

Dr. Ahmed Moghrabi
is a Palestinian surgeon who served as the head of the plastic and reconstructive surgery department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Throughout his tenure, he provided critical medical care to patients, even during intense periods of conflict. In 2009, Dr. Moghrabi was injured during an Israeli bombardment but continued his work. He remained at his post until the hospital was besieged by Israeli forces, after which he fled to Egypt to ensure his family's safety. Dr. Moghrabi has since shared his experiences, shedding light on the dire conditions in Gaza and advocating for the rights and well-being of its residents.

Francesca P. Albanese
born on March 30, 1977, in Ariano Irpino, Italy, is an Italian international lawyer and academic. She holds a law degree with honors from the University of Pisa and a Master of Laws in human rights from SOAS University of London. Albanese has extensive experience working with the United Nations, including roles with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. On May 1, 2022, she was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, becoming the first woman to hold this position. In this capacity, Albanese has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Palestinians, emphasizing the need for accountability and adherence to international law.

Hussein Baoumi
is a foreign policy advocate with expertise in international law and international relations. He currently serves as Legal Advisor at Amnesty International's European Institutions Office in Brussels. Prior to this role, he worked with various human rights groups and think tanks in Tunisia, USA, Colombia and Egypt.

Ilan Pappé
is an Israeli historian and political scientist known for his critical approach to Israel’s history and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. A leading figure among the "New Historians," he has challenged mainstream narratives about the founding of Israel and the Nakba. In his book The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006), Pappé argues that the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 was a deliberate and systematic act. He has taught at various universities and is currently a professor at the University of Exeter, where he directs the European Centre for Palestine Studies.

Imane Maarifi
is a French nurse of Moroccan descent, raised in France by a modest family committed to public service. In January 2024, she joined a humanitarian mission with the PalMed Europe association, spending two weeks at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, where she provided care to those injured during intense bombardments. Upon returning to France, Maarifi actively shared her experiences, highlighting the dire conditions in Gaza and advocating for an immediate ceasefire and accountability for the violations she witnessed. In September 2024, she was arrested and placed in custody, an action perceived by many as an attempt to intimidate voices supporting the Palestinian cause. Despite these challenges, Maarifi remains steadfast in her commitment to humanitarian work and continues to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza.

Omar Ferwati
is an assistant director with Forensic Architecture (FA), a research agency based in Goldsmiths, University of London, developing and applying methods of spatial analysis in human rights investigations. His investigations have ranged from airstrikes in Gaza, Syria, and Yemen, to the environmental legacy of genocide in Namibia. Ferwati’s work with FA has been referred to and submitted as evidence in national and international courts and legal bodies including the ICC, the ICJ, and the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR). Among several investigations in Gaza, he co-led FA’s ‘A Cartography of Genocide’, an extensive report and online mapping database spatially analysing and documenting Israel’s military conduct in Gaza since October 2023.

Noura Erakat
is Professor of Africana Studies and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is the author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019), which received the Palestine Book Award and the Bronze Medal for the Independent Publishers Book Award in Current Events/Foreign Affairs. In 2023, Noura co-chaired an Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel, a report documenting how U.S. arms to Israel have been used in violation of U.S. and international law and which was submitted to the White House. She is co-founding editor of Jadaliyya and an editorial board member of the Journal of Palestine Studies as well as Human Geography. She is a co-founding board member of the DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival. She has served as Legal Counsel for a Congressional Subcommittee in the US House of Representatives, as Legal Advocate for the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights, and as national organizer of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Noura has also produced video documentaries, including "Gaza In Context" and "Black Palestinian Solidarity.” Her writings have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Nation, Al Jazeera, and the Boston Review. She is a frequent commentator on CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Fox News, the BBC, and NPR, among others. Noura recently completed non-resident fellowship of the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School and a Mahmoud Darwish Visiting Professorship at Brown University. In 2022, she was selected as a Freedom Fellow by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. In 2025, the University of Ghent selected her as the Amnesty International Chair awarded to someone who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of human rights.

Olivier Corten
is a Belgian international law scholar and professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He specializes in the use of force in international law, legal theory, and the interpretation of international treaties. Corten is known for his critical approach to international law and his contributions to the study of customary international norms.

Raz Segal
is an Israeli-American historian and scholar specializing in Holocaust and genocide studies. He is an Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University. His research focuses on the Holocaust, modern genocide, and state violence, particularly in central and southeastern Europe and in Palestine/Israel. Segal is known for his critical approach to the study of mass violence, and he is a recipient of the Baron Velge Award for his work on the history of World War II (2024). His publications include Genocide in the Carpathians: War, Social Breakdown, and Mass Violence, 1914-1945 (Stanford University Press 2016), and he is at work on a book on the distortion, weaponization, and mobilization of Holocaust history in the reproduction of white supremacy and state violence, including a focus on Israel’s assault on Palestinians from the 1948 Nakba to the current genocidal assault on Gaza. Segal was the first Holocaust and genocide studies scholar to warn, already in October 2023, about genocide in Israel's attack on Gaza.

Omer Shatz
is an international lawyer and academic specializing in international law and human rights. He is the legal director and co-founder of front-LEX, an organization focused on challenging EU migration policies through strategic litigation. Shatz also lectures in international law at Sciences Po Paris and serves as counsel at the International Criminal Court. He holds a law degree from Yale Law School.

Raji Sourani
is a Palestinian lawyer and activist, known for his work in defending human rights in Gaza. He is the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), an organization dedicated to protecting the fundamental rights of Palestinians and documenting human rights violations in the occupied territories. Sourani has been a prominent advocate for justice and accountability for crimes committed during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sahar Francis
is a Palestinian lawyer and human rights advocate, serving as the director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association since 2005. She specializes in legal issues related to Palestinian political prisoners, including torture, administrative detention, and fair trial rights. Francis is a leading voice in international advocacy against Israel’s policies of incarceration and repression in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Tanya Haj-Hassan
is a pediatric intensive care physician and human rights advocate with extensive experience in conflict zones. She earned her bachelor's degree in human biology from Stanford University, where she was named a Rhodes Scholar, and subsequently obtained a Master of Science in Global Health Science from the University of Oxford. Over the past decade, Dr. Haj-Hassan has collaborated with organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), providing medical care in regions including Gaza, the West Bank, and Liberia. She co-founded Gaza Medic Voices, a platform dedicated to sharing firsthand accounts from healthcare professionals in Gaza. In addition to her medical work, Dr. Haj-Hassan has been an outspoken advocate for Palestinian human rights, addressing panels at events like the Democratic National Convention.
Moderators

Tamam Abusalama
is a Palestinian blogger and journalism student pursuing her master's degree in communication studies with a focus on new media and society at Vrije University in Brussels. She was born and raised in the Gaza sSrip, but she’s originally from Beit Jirja, Palestine.

Frank Barat
is a French activist, writer, and filmmaker dedicated to human rights, social justice, and the Palestinian cause. He was the coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, an international initiative that examined violations of international law in the region. Barat has edited several books featuring conversations with leading intellectuals, including Gaza in Crisis with Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé. He is also a frequent speaker and writer on issues of colonialism, resistance, and international solidarity. Through his work in media and activism, he aims to raise awareness and challenge global injustices.

Alessandra Briganti
Journalist at the Italian News Agency ANSA in Brussels. Focus on foreign policy, enlargement, migration, Western Balkans, Central Eastern Europe and artificial intelligence. Former contributor to Domani editoriale, il manifesto, il Venerdì di Repubblica. Graduated at the College of Europe in Natolin.