Exclusive – The UN Watchdog organization is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take measures against appointees of international agencies, with their second term starting on May 1.
In a letter directed to Rubio, Hillel Neuer, the Executive Director of UN Watch, suggests that the U.S. government should impose sanctions and deny entry and visas to Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territories. He further called for Albanese to lose her diplomatic immunity.
Neuer characterizes Albanese as “pro-hama” and describes her reappointment as “illegal.”
Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur of the occupied Palestinian territory, is scheduled to hold a press conference on February 5, 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.(via Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard)
Yet, despite anti-Semitism allegations, the UN has reappointed her
“Her reappointment this month was done illegally, disregarding explicit UN regulations that call for investigating her misconduct, which should have voided her term renewal,” Neuer mentioned.
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Neuer highlighted the recent Department of Justice decision to permit lawsuits against UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) as proof that Rubio could indeed take action against Albanese.
Neuer advocates using similar tactics that have been applied against anti-Israel figures like Mahmoud Khalil. He further emphasized, “The exploitation of a global platform to disseminate hatred by Albanese and rationalize terrorism must be met with a decisive response.”
“Legally, this situation is crystal clear. As a former lawyer from one of Manhattan’s leading law firms, I can assert that this form of procedural fraud illustrates that she is not legitimately a UN appointee,” Neuer noted to Fox News Digital.
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories, is scheduled to attend the Maghreb Maschrex Social Forum in Tunis, Tunisia on May 11, 2024.(Mohamed Mdalla/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Evidence letter from Colombian anti-Israel activist lawyer Mahmoud Khalil to Rubio: “Two pages, that’s it.”
Pascal Sim, a spokesman for the UN Human Rights Council, was appointed on May 1 at the same time as Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories since 1967. Sim clarified that according to the “6 or less” principle, she can serve until April 30, 2028.
Sim added, “The Human Rights Council never conducts ‘reappointments’ or ‘updates’ for any special procedure delegate, formally or informally. Each appointment is made with the understanding that the mandate holder can serve up to six years.”
Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory, is expected to speak at a press conference at the UN European Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on December 11, 2024.(Reuters/Pierre Alboui)
Previously, as the UN was preparing to think about reappointing Albanese, R-FLA Chairman Brian Mast urged the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) to halt that process.
Mast expressed in a letter to President Yurg Lauber of the UN Human Rights Council that Albanese could exploit her position to foster anti-Semitic narratives while supporting Hamas.
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Moreover, in response to a comment request from Fox News Digital, the State Department referred to an April 15 statement concerning Albanese.
“The United States continues to strongly criticize Francesca Albanese’s role as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation concerning Palestinian Territories, which have been occupied since 1967.” The Human Rights Council’s support for Albanese reinforces the concerns voiced by President Trump regarding her actions.
Various countries, including the U.S., have criticized Albanese for her statements in the past. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has published a compilation of her remarks considered anti-Semitic and anti-Israel.
In October 2024, while in her UN role, she shared a post that she deemed a “must-read,” where journalist Chris Hedges asserted the Israeli lobby had effectively purchased Congress.
In August 2024, she controversially compared the Israeli actions in Gaza to the Holocaust, referring to the Gaza Strip as “21st Century Concentration Camps.”
Attempts to reach Francesca Albanese for her thoughts on this matter went unanswered before publication.
