The three-year extension of Francesca Albanese’s role as a United Nations special rapporteur is “invalid” and “without any legal effect”, according to the executive director of UN Watch, a pro-Israel NGO.
Hillel Neuer wrote on Monday to UN Secretary-General António Guterres alleging that the procedure at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to reappoint Albanese, a longstanding critic of Israel, was carried out incorrectly.
HRC President Jürg Lauber failed to present letters from the Argentine, Hungarian and Israeli governments, and from Brian Mast, chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, to the council, Neuer wrote. In the letters, the countries and the congressman opposed Albanese’s reappointment, stating that she had repeatedly violated the terms of her mandate.
Albanese has previously denied being biased against Israel, and has been supported by groups including Amnesty International.
Per the Human Rights Council’s rules, the council president “will convey” any information that he or she is provided, including from states, “concerning cases of persistent non-compliance by a mandate-holder” before that person’s mandate is renewed, Neuer wrote in a letter shared on his X account.
The council’s procedures call for it to “consider such information and act upon it as appropriate,” Neuer added. Only “in the absence of the above-mentioned information, the terms in office of the mandate-holders shall be extended for a second three-year term by the council,” the council’s rules state.
Lauber shared the letters opposing Albanese’s reinstatement with the special procedures office, which cleared Albanese for a second term, but not with HRC members, Neuer wrote.
Lauber said at a press briefing last week that the allegation of incorrect practice would be examined by the UN Coordination Committee. “If the Coordination Committee again concludes that there is persistent non-compliance with the code of conduct, there will be a communication through the president to the council to see whether the council wants to take any measures upon this conclusion,” he said.
Neuer also wrote to Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, stating that Albanese’s reappointment was “illegally carried out in violation of express UN rules requiring investigation of her misconduct, rendering her term renewal null and void.”
Albanese “holds no UN mandate, no immunity and can be sanctioned and denied entry,” he wrote, advising Rubio to deny her entry to the United States.
“As you have emphasized, individuals who endorse or abet terrorist organisations must face consequences, including visa denial,” he wrote. “Francesca Albanese’s abuse of a global platform to spread hatred and legitimise terrorism demands an unequivocal response.”
Albanese began her second and final three-year term on Thursday. UN Watch is a Geneva-based NGO that says it is dedicated to “combating antisemitism and anti-Israel bias at the UN”.
