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UN illegally reappointed Israel-hating official: Watchdog group

UN watchdog group says Francesca Albanese’s reappointment broke UN rules, as Human Rights Council refused to present American, Israeli opposition to extension of her term.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The recent reappointment of a United Nations official with a long history of antisemitic and anti-Israel comments is invalid due to the international body’s failure to investigate misconduct charges against her, according to a watchdog group.

Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has repeatedly spread antisemitic conspiracy theories and promoted demonstrably false anti-Israel propaganda, was recently reappointed for another three-year term in her role.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, advocacy group UN Watch outlined how Albanese’s reappointment violated the international body’s own policies and was therefore invalid.

The Human Rights Council, the internal UN body responsible for extending Albanese’s term, did not present letters from the Israeli, Argentine, and Hungarian governments expressing their opposition to her continuation in that role.

Chair of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Brian Mast also wrote to the Council about his concern regarding Albanese’s violation of the terms of her role, but his letter was also not presented.

UN Watch also reached out to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, noting that Albanese “holds no UN mandate, no immunity and can be sanctioned and denied entry” to the United States.

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Albanese’s appointment was “illegally carried out in violation of express UN rules requiring investigation of her misconduct, rendering her term renewal null and void,” UN Watch director Hillel Neuer wrote.

“As you have emphasized, individuals who endorse or abet terrorist organizations must face consequences, including visa denial,” he added. “Francesca Albanese’s abuse of a global platform to spread hatred and legitimize terrorism demands an unequivocal response.”

Shortly after the October 7th massacres, Albanese denied that the worst terror attacks in Israeli history were rooted in antisemitism. She claimed that the victims were murdered “not because of their Judaism, but in response to Israeli oppression.”

The UN official has compared Israel’s actions against Hamas to Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II, referring to the Gaza Strip as a “concentration camp.”

She has also compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.