On Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, were selected to receive the 2025 Mario Benedetti International Prize for Struggle for Human Rights and Solidarity for their work on behalf of the Palestinians.
The Benedetti Foundation said in a statement published on its website: “This edition, marked by a context of collective pain and moral urgency, due to the genocide experienced by the Palestinian people, requires a reaffirmation of our call for memory, justice and active solidarity.”
For this reason, the Uruguayan entity decided to recognize the “firm and exemplary actions” taken by Albañez and Sanchez “in defense of human dignity and justice.”
In the case of the president, the organization’s board of directors wanted to recognize “its institutional responsibility to promote policies of reception and cooperation that enhance the dignity of the most vulnerable groups.”
Specifically, the Foundation highlighted its support for “concrete peace initiatives, urging an end to much suffering and ensuring humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip,” as well as measures to stop arms sales to Israel and ban the import of products from illegal settlements.
Among Albanians, Council members praised her “moral courage” in facing international pressure and maintaining an independent voice in defense of basic rights, and clearly condemned what many preferred to remain silent about: the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. They call her “a beacon of truth and courage.”
Likewise, they specifically referred to the report submitted by the Rapporteur to the UN General Assembly, entitled “Genocide in Gaza, a Mass Crime” which “challenges the international community as a whole, remembering that international law not only requires refraining from participation in crimes, but also prevents and punishes them.”