Francesca Albanese has revealed that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has not spoken to her since the U.S. announced its unprecedented decision to sanction the UN official.
Asked in an interview with the Middle East Eye if Guterres had reached out to her, a visibly upset Albanese responded: “Never! Never heard from him. No - Not now, not before. And I don’t think after.”
The admission exposes the icy relations between Guterres and Albanese that were first brought to light by former U.S. Special Envoy on Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, who said that the Secretary-General privately called Francesca Albanese a “horrible person.”
Yet despite this private disdain, Guterres ignored repeated calls to remove Albanese from her post following condemnations for antisemitism by the U.S., France, Germany, and Canada.
By enabling Albanese’s re-appointment in April 2025 and refusing to take action against her financial misconduct, Guterres has allowed his UN to reach a new level of shame by standing behind the utterly discredited Albanese-even while refusing to speak to her.
