UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese abuses her UN mandate to propagate antisemitism and support terrorism, as documented by UN Watch.
Here are some of her latest outrages:
1. Albanese Appears on Pro-Hamas Podcast, Warns Situation in Germany Could Become “Much Worse” than the Holocaust (February 27, 2025)
Last month, Albanese appeared on “The FloodGate Podcast,” likely named in reference to Hamas’s October 7th massacre operation codenamed the Al-Aqsa Flood. The Palestine Chronicle, which hosts the podcast, sparked backlash after one of their journalists was revealed to be a Hamas terrorist who held three Israelis hostage for eight months.
During her interview, she went on a rant about her recent near arrest in Germany, warning that given Germany’s past, the situation could develop into something “much worse” than the Holocaust “because today, the means of mass control are much more powerful and lethal.”
2. Albanese Meets With Terror Supporter Faisal Yassin in Germany (February 17, 2025)
Last month, Francesca Albanese met with and posed for a photo with Faisal Yassin, a prominent anti-Israel figure in Germany who appears to have ties to the PFLP, a designated terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Canada, and Japan.
In the smiling photo, Yassin thanked Albanese for her work. Previously, Yassin traveled to Jordan to meet with Leila Khaled, calling it the “highlight” of his trip to the country in a now deleted post. For reference, in 1969, Leila Khaled and other members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) violently hijacked a Trans World Airlines flight bound for Tel Aviv, later blowing up the nose section of the aircraft. A year later, Khaled attempted to hijack an El Al flight from Amsterdam to New York City, but failed after her grenades, fortunately, did not detonate. The plane then was rerouted to London, where she was arrested, only to be later released by the British authorities in a prisoner exchange for civilian hostages taken by PFLP members in another hijacking.
3. Albanese Reiterates Support for Violent Resistance Against Israel (March 18, 2025)
In an interview with the British Channel 4 News, Albanese doubles down on her support for armed violence against Israelis while denying Hamas’s genocidal intentions during the October 7th massacre.
When pressed by the interviewer, Albanese, who has repeatedly called Israel’s military operation in Gaza a “genocide,” refused to call Hamas’s heinous masscare of 1200 Israelis on October 7th an act of genocide. Instead, Albanese criticized those who call the atrocities a ‘genocide’ to justify the “brutal revengeful response” by Israel.
Later in the interview, Albanese attempted to dodge a question asking her if she considers the October 7th attacks a form of legitimate resistance, stating that “people who are under oppression and under foreign domination have a right to resist.” She added that the Palestinian people have a “right” to “resist as a way to defend themselves as a people.”
When asked if Hamas’s repeated rocket attacks against Israeli civilians fell under this, Albanese affirmed that Hamas’s actions could be considered a form of self-defense. Albanese concludes that even if the acts were criminal, “an unlawful act of the resistance doesn’t delegitimize the resistance,” lending support to Hamas’s goals and actions.
4. Albanese Storms Out of Radio Interview When American Jewish Committee is Mentioned (March 20, 2025)
During a studio interview with Morning Ireland, Albanese loses her temper at the radio host for quoting the American Jewish Committee, one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations in the world.
“Why do you quote the American Jewish Committee… Ireland is under pressure through the mafia-style techniques that pro-Israel groups have deployed against everyone,” she says before storming off set.
Francesca Albanese freaks out at Irish radio host for posing a counterpoint made by the American Jewish Committee, one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations in the world, then she storms off the set. Albanese lacks the temperament required for a UN expert & should be fired. https://t.co/v90u5v6gS4
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) March 20, 2025
5. Albanese Holds an Official U.N. Press Conference Bashing Israel and the United States (March 12, 2025)
In Geneva while the U.N. Human Rights Council was in session, Albanese held a press conference to condemn Israel and the United States. Albanese accused the Jewish state of “destroying the Palestinian people in the pursuit of ethnic cleansing of what remains of Palestine.”
Albanese then turned to the U.S., calling the “politics under the current administration… terrible in many ways” while adding that the U.S. has “always” been “lawlessness driven.” Albanese also maliciously accused Israel of driving U.S. policy, saying that “Trump’s plan to forcibly displace the Palestinians” is really “the Israeli plan to displace the Palestinians, and President Trump, as its persona, is just saying that out loud.”
6. Albanese Rebukes Leading Definition of Antisemitism as Repressive (March 22, 2025)
In a rant on X, Albanese condemns Ireland for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, calling it “the prime instrument of repression of Palestine solidarity.” In a separate article, Albanese called Ireland’s adoption of definition as “not wise” and also “so un-Irish.”
For reference, the IHRA definition of antisemitism is the leading definition used by the Jewish community and has been formally adopted by 46 countries including 26 out of 27 EU member states, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel, the Philippines, Panama, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.
Albanese’s objection to the definition stems from her repeated violation of it, including by routinely portraying Israelis as Nazis and by complaining that America is “subjugated by the Jewish Lobby.”
7. Albanese to Hamas Justifying Professor: “Keep Fighting, Comrade” (March 2, 2025)
After terror-supporting law York University professor Heidi Matthews tweeted to Albanese that she would be teaching her report in class, Albanese responded: “Keep fighting, comrade.” On October 8th, one day after Hamas’s massacre murdering 1200 Israelis, Heidi Matthews defended Hamas’s “resistance,” adding that she’ll “leave it to Palestinians to let us know what resistance looks like for them.” Matthews later clarified that “occupied peoples have a right to resist, which includes armed resistance.”
8. Albanese Affirms Support for Hamas Supporting Columbia Graduate Mahmoud Khalil (March 11, 2025)
After Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and faces deportation by the U.S. government for his pro-Hamas and antisemitic actions on Columbia’s campus, Albanese rushed to his defense, calling it a conflation of “criticism of Israel with antisemitism.” Going further, Albanese even went so far as to claim that Khalil’s arrest is an act of “apartheid.”
In an official U.N. letter, Albanese condemned the United States, calling on the government to “immediately release Mahmoud Khalil” and “end retaliation against students supporting Palestinians’ rights.”
9. Albanese Signs Letter Condemning U.S. for Purportedly Undermining Human Rights (February 27, 2025)
Despite falling well outside of her mandate, Albanese signed onto an official U.N. letter which condemns the U.S. for its alleged “escalating attacks on the international architecture of human rights, the rule of law, multilateralism, the principles of sovereign equality and self-determination, and vital international agreements on peace and security, climate change, global justice, and international cooperation.”
The letter goes on to accuse the United States of “recent actions that undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms at both domestic and international levels.”
10. Albanese Falsely Claims Independence & Denies Receiving Financial Support (March 23, 2025)
In an interview with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart on their channel Leading, Albanese claimed that she works strictly as a volunteer “because it would be seen as a breach of independence” for her to accept donations. However, Albanese failed to mention that she was previously under a U.N. investigation that she received funds from pro-Hamas lobby groups.
UN Watch has also previously uncovered that Albanese has funneled donations through her lead researcher, Sara Troian, without disclosing her expenses, payments illegally received by her office, or the identity of the donors.
The Bottom Line: The U.N. Must Not Renew Francesca Albanese’s Mandate
Pursuant to U.N. Presidential Statement HRC 8/PRST/2, UN Watch requests that on April 1st the UNHRC not renew the 3-year term of Francesca Albanese, given her persistent and egregious non-compliance with the Code of Conduct.
BREAKING: The U.N. Human Rights Council was planning on April 1st to quietly renew pro-Hamas rapporteur Francesca Albanese for another 3 years. But we have now formally invoked procedure 8/PRST/2 by which the UNHRC must consider our dossier on her non-compliance and act upon it. https://t.co/SxggN1rqHj pic.twitter.com/OFuGCcWd2N
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) March 25, 2025
