Investigative body advocates for penalties against United Nations appointee allegedly involved in antisemitic actions
Fresh Take:
UN Watch Urges Marco Rubio to Block Visa for Controversial UN Special Rapporteur
In an unconventional move, the UN Watch has appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take action against the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese. Rubio is requested to deny her visa access and even consider sanctions due to allegations of misconduct and the spreading of antisemitic ideologies.
STRAIGHT TALK - The UN Watch has penned a letter to Marco Rubio, urging him to intervene in the appointment of Francesca Albanese, whose second term is set to begin on May 1. The organization has raised concerns about her questionable conduct and her alleged links to pro-Hamas associations.
U.N. Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 5, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS )
*UN APPOINTEE ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITISM*
The UN Watch argues that Albanese's reappointment was illegally carried out, contravening UN rules mandating investigation of any misconduct, thereby rendering her term-renewal invalid.
When conversing with our platform, Digital, Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of the UN Watch, drew attention to the Department of Justice's recent decision to grant lawsuits against UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) as proof that Rubio has the authority to act against Albanese.
Neuer insisted that the U.S. should act based on the same principles used in cases against anti-Israel agitators like Mahmoud Khalil, arguing that Albanese's abuse of a global platform to promote hatred and legitimize terrorism demands a strong response.
"Legally, it's crystal clear to me - I used to be an attorney in Manhattan for one of the major law firms in the United States - it's apparent that this kind of procedural malpractice and fraud would lead to Albanese being disqualified as a U.N. appointee," Neuer shared with Digital.
UN's Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, attends Maghreb-Mashreq Social Forum in Tunis, Tunisia on May 11, 2024. (Mohamed Mdalla/Anadolu via Getty Images)
*LAWYERS FOR ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST BLAST RUBIO'S EVIDENCE LETTER: 'TWO Pages, That's It'*
Reached for comment, Pascal Sim, Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Council, informed Digital that Albanese, whose mandate began on May 1, 2022, can serve until 30 April 2028, in accordance with the "no longer than six years" principle.
Sim also stated that the UN Human Rights Council does not formally appoint or renew any Special Procedures mandate-holder, with any nomination already taken into account as a potential six-year stint in the position.
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Pierre Albouy)
Earlier this month, when the UN was deliberating on Albanese's reappointment, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Chair Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., urged the UN not to allow it to pass. Mast criticized Albanese for unapologetically using her role in the international body to propagate antisemitic tropes and serve as a Hamas apologist.
Multiple countries, including the U.S., have condemned Albanese for her remarks in the past. The Anti-Defamation League has even compiled a list of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements made by Albanese throughout the years.
In October 2024, while serving as a U.N. appointee, she shared a post on a social media platform, highlighting it as a "must-read for the ages." In the post, journalist Chris Hedges argued that the "Israel lobby has bought and paid for Congress and the two ruling parties," making campaign donations by Zionists a formidable barrier to peace.
Albanese also compared Israel's war in Gaza to the Holocaust and, in August 2024, referred to the Gaza Strip as a "concentration camp of the 21st century."
Digital reached out to Francesca Albanese and the State Department for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Digital and FOX Business.
- The UN Watch has asked Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, to block the visa access of the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, and consider sanctions due to allegations of misconduct and the spreading of antisemitic ideologies.
- In a letter to Rubio, the UN Watch urged him to intervene in Albanese's appointment before her second term begins on May 1, citing concerns about her questionable conduct and her alleged links to pro-Hamas associations.
- Reuters reported that Hillel Neuer, the Executive Director of the UN Watch, drew attention to the Department of Justice's recent decision to grant lawsuits against UNRWA as evidence that Rubio has the authority to act against Albanese.
- The UN's Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has been accused of antisemitism by the UN Watch, who argue that her reappointment was illegally carried out, contravening UN rules mandating investigation of any misconduct.
- The UN Human Rights Council has stated that Albanese, whose mandate began on May 1, 2022, can serve until 30 April 2028, following the principle of not allowing any Special Procedures mandate-holder to serve for more than six years.
