The UN has launched an investigation into claims made by Francesca Albanese, the controversial UN monitor assigned to look into “Israel’s violations,” that she unlawfully accepted money from pro-Hamas organizations to pay for an estimated $20,000 trip to Australia and New Zealand, during which she attempted to persuade a significant pension fund to pull out of Israel. Recently, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur tasked with monitoring “Israel’s violations” in the Palestinian territories, made charges of financial irregularities. The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services’ investigations section said that it has begun an inquiry into these claims.
Palestine monitor’s role:
Albanese, a former UNRWA attorney who co-founded an international network to advocate against Israel, was recently the first UN human rights rapporteur in UN history to face criticism for antisemitism from France and Germany. The US Special Envoy to Combat Anti Semitism also censured her in 2022 after learning that she had written a UNRWA fundraising plea in which she asserted that “America is subjugated by the Jewish lobby.” A group of eighteen parliamentarians, including both parties, denounced her in 2023 for not denouncing terrorism against Israelis. United Nations Watch, an independent non-governmental organization with headquarters in Geneva, filed a complaint in June that prompted the new UN probe, which OIOS stated will be headed by High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
Following the inquiry, UN Watch declared today that it has initiated removal procedures against Albanese with the UN. Executive director Hillel Neuer asked the 47-nation Human Rights Council to revoke Albanese’s mandate due to her financial irregularities and her repeated remarks endorsing Hamas terrorism and inciting antisemitism. The request was made in a draft resolution that was submitted to the Human Rights Council President.
Pro-Hamas connections?
In order to endorse the resolution, Neuer wrote to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today. “We trust that, after having repeatedly condemned her for inciting Hamas terrorism and antisemitism, the US will do the right thing and present the resolution to finally remove her,” the statement reads. “The US was one of several democracies that, despite our appeals, inexplicably failed to object when Albanese’s appointment was brought to the Council floor on April 1, 2022.” “Francesca Albanese misuses her position at the UN to constantly propagate propaganda for Hamas and antisemitism on social media, TV, and in her reporting. Neuer stated, “The human rights council and the United Nations as a whole are shadowed every day she is in office.” Allegations that special rapporteur Francesca Albanese inappropriately accepted outside funding from pro-Hamas organizations to cover her $20,000 lobbying trip to Australia have prompted the UN to launch an inquiry. Today, we are submitting paperwork to end her mandate. United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination serve as guiding documents.
Investigation scope
Recalling the Human Rights Council’s June 18, 2007, resolutions 5/1 on the Council’s institution-building and 5/2 on the Code of Conduct for those with special procedures mandates, and emphasizing that mandate holders must carry out their duties in compliance with those resolutions and their appendices, Reiterating the Council’s authority to establish and amend special procedures mandates as well as to designate and dismiss mandate holders. Acknowledging that the mandate was created before the Palestinian Authority was established in September 1993 and before Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, and that the mandate was never updated to take into account the actions of these and other pertinent actors, a number of previous mandate holders have denounced the mandate’s inherent flaws. Confirms that Francesca Albanese has broken the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures and the UN Charter in a flagrant and systematic manner, failing to uphold the highest standards of competence, honesty, equity, and good faith; failing to ensure that her personal political opinions do not interfere with the way she is carrying out her mandate; and failing to exercise restraint, moderation, and discretion so as not to compromise the UN’s recognition of her independent position or give the impression that she is siding with one side in the dispute.
Implications for UN credibility
Particularly acknowledging that the previous Special Rapporteur Hannu Halinen had acknowledged the mandate’s inherent bias, he objected that the mandate was “so distant from reality,” that he did not want to “be told beforehand what the violations were and by whom they were committed,” and that “it was taken for granted that there were violations” and “that they were committed by Israel.” Amnesty International, for example, claimed that the mandate’s “limitation to Israeli violations undercuts both the effectiveness and the credibility of the mandate,” and that it “fails to take account of the human rights of victims of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by parties other than the State of Israel.” Civil society organizations have also criticized the mandate for being biased and one-sided.
