- A Geneva-based watchdog said Thursday it has filed a legal memorandum to the United Nations arguing that the reappointment of Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, was carried out in violation of UN rules and is therefore invalid.
In a 20-page submission to UN Legal Counsel Stephen Mathias, UN Watch contends that the president of the Human Rights Council acted improperly by failing to transmit objections from states and NGOs, as required under council procedures. Instead, the objections were referred to a coordination committee, comprised of Albanese’s friends and peers, that the group says lacked the authority to decide on reappointments.
UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer presented the findings today at a hearing of the Italian Senate in Rome.
“The UN’s own rules are clear: the Council must consider objections to mandate-holders. That never happened,” Neuer said. “The process was hijacked, and the so-called renewal of Ms. Albanese’s mandate is legally void.”
Neuer added that Albanese, who has been accused of spreading antisemitism and minimizing Hamas atrocities, “cannot hide behind diplomatic immunity she no longer has.”
The memorandum calls on the UN Legal Counsel to recognize the illegality of her appointment process, and urges member states to reject what it describes as Albanese’s unlawful claim to office.
The issue has gained urgency after UN Legal Counsel Mathias recently wrote to Washington to protest U.S. sanctions on Albanese, insisting she enjoyed UN immunity.
UN Watch says its new filing proves the opposite, and calls on the UN to recognize the illegality of her purported reappointment, and for member states to reject what it describes as Albanese’s unlawful claim to office.
In addition, Albanese has been sued in US federal court for defamation, and UN Watch’s memo will likely figure in the court’s deliberations.
