OTTAWA—On Friday, NDP critic for Foreign Affairs and Defence Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona) and NDP House Leader Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie) announced their intention to nominate UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese for the next Nobel Peace Prize.

“Francesca Albanese has stood up for human rights, peace and international law since the beginning of her mandate as UN Special Rapporteur,” said McPherson. “She has travelled the world to share what she has witnessed on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territories and has urged us to take action in the name of justice and the rule of law. She has shown true courage and conviction in the face of a genocide that world leaders have failed to take concrete action to stop. Albanese should be the recipient of the Nobel Peace prize.”

The nomination process for the Nobel Peace Prize allows Members of Parliament to make submissions.

With the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank, Albanese has visited several countries — including Canada last year — to speak out against theses human rights violations committed against Palestinians by the Israeli war cabinet and to urge world leaders to use their power to help stop them. For this reason, the NDP will nominate her for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“The world — including Canadians — was appalled to see the Prime Minister of Israel, who has arrest warrants issued against him for war crimes, nominating a convicted felon, Donald Trump, for a Nobel Peace Prize. This is a bad joke,” said Boulerice. “Meanwhile, the Trump administration issued sanctions against Albanese, who has dedicated her career to calling out human rights violations and urging world leaders to act against injustice. We need to set this right. She is the one who truly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. The NDP will keep fighting for actions so that both Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace and security.”