On February 11, 2026, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made comments criticizing the UN Human Rights Council-appointed special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, and calling for her resignation.
Barrot's comments appeared to be based on a video of her speaking at the December 2025 Doha Forum that had been edited to make it falsely appear as if Albanese had said that Israel was the "common enemy of humanity". Barrot subsequently claimed that his statement was based on an alleged long list of provocations by the Special Rapporteur.
This quote can be attributed to Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East and North Africa Division Director at Human Rights Watch:
"The latest unjustified assault on the special rapporteur is aimed at muzzling criticism of Israeli authorities' atrocity crimes against Palestinians, ensuring impunity for these abuses and other governments' complicity in them. Applying undue pressure on a UN expert, like Albanese, also damages the independence and integrity of the UN human rights system, which is already under concerted attack by powerful governments. Governments should stop attacking independent UN experts and instead take long overdue steps to address ongoing Israeli atrocity crimes that the special rapporteur and so many others, including Human Rights Watch, have exposed and denounced."
