The remark follows last week’s Financial Times interview in which outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres admitted “we have many [rapporteurs] that are totally out of control, from the point of view of the Secretariat.”

Guterres had previously described Albanese privately as a “horrible person,” according to former U.S. antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt. His spokesman has also said the Secretariat “doesn’t agree with much of what she says.”

Albanese responded by claiming the Secretary-General “never meant what the pro-Apartheid scavengers spread” and accusing critics of being “genocide enablers.”

UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer noted that Albanese herself has said she has “never heard from” Guterres, making her poorly placed to interpret his words.

“Albanese has functioned as Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the UN. Many leading democracies have condemned her for Holocaust inversion and other ethical violations, making her the first UN human rights official in history to be so denounced. The United States sanctioned her. Guterres called her a horrible person in private. Now Ambassador Waltz confirms what senior UN officials have been saying all along,” said Neuer.

“Albanese has functioned as Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the UN,” said Neuer. “Iran’s regime and its terrorist proxies routinely praise her. But numerous democracies have called for her removal, condemning her for Holocaust inversion and other ethical violations, making her the first UN human rights official in history to be so denounced.”

“The United States sanctioned her. Guterres called her a horrible person in private. Now Ambassador Waltz confirms it: senior UN officials knew she was out of control. A human rights system that cannot remove its most notorious antisemite is not independent. It is broken,” said Neuer.

UN Watch reiterated its call for Albanese’s immediate removal, and for real accountability mechanisms before Guterres leaves office in December.

The post U.S. Envoy: U.N. Officials Knew Albanese Was ‘Out of Control’ appeared first on UN Watch.

UN Chief Guterres Admits Special Rapporteurs Are “Totally Out of Control” – After Privately Calling Francesca Albanese a “Horrible Person”

GENEVA, August 27, 2026 — In a Financial Times interview, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres responded to charges of institutional anti-Israel bias at the world body by conceding that many of its independent special rapporteurs “are totally out of control.”

Asked about Israel’s argument that the UN as an institution is biased against it, Guterres replied: “There are different entities in the U.N. and I cannot respond for the U.N. in its entirety because there are many entities in the U.N. that are independent. We have independent rapporteurs and we have many that are totally out of control, from the point of view of the Secretariat.”

The admission comes after Guterres privately described UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese as a “horrible person” – twice, according to then-U.S. Special Envoy on Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt. Lipstadt revealed that Guterres made the remarks to her during a conversation at the 2024 Munich Security Conference after she raised U.S. concerns about Albanese’s record.

Albanese, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022, has drawn widespread condemnation from the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, and others for antisemitic rhetoric, comparisons of Israel and its leaders to Nazis, denial of Israel’s right of self-defense, and other statements that violate the UN Code of Conduct for special rapporteurs.

Despite the private criticism and public distancing by Guterres’ office earlier this year – when his spokesperson stated that the Secretariat “doesn’t agree with much of what she says, and wouldn’t use the language that she uses” – the Secretary-General has never publicly denounced her or called for her removal.

Guterres’ own words now effectively corroborate the findings of UN Watch’s 104-page investigation From Watchdogs to Ideologues, released on  May 26, 2026. That report examined 13 of the UN Human Rights Council’s 59 Special Rapporteurs – more than a fifth of the system – and documented a systemic pattern of ideological bias, financial conflicts of interest with authoritarian regimes, and conduct that would end careers in any other institution.

Among the cases detailed: Alena Douhan received $1.3 million from China, Russia and Qatar while defending those regimes; Ben Saul took $150,000 from China while remaining silent on the Uyghur persecution; Tlaleng Mofokeng declared “Hamas are not terrorists”; and others systematically attacked democracies while shielding dictatorships. The report found no meaningful mechanism to remove or discipline such mandate-holders. Three months later, the Secretary-General himself has confirmed that many of these rapporteurs are “totally out of control.”

“Guterres’ interview is a rare moment of candor,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. “For years the UN has described its special rapporteurs as the ‘crown jewels‘ of the UN human rights system. Now the Secretary-General himself admits many of them are ‘totally out of control.’ The most egregious example is Francesca Albanese, whom he privately called a ‘horrible person’ yet refused to rein in. This is not about independent experts but rather it is institutional failure — which fuels antisemitism and undermines the credibility of the entire United Nations human rights system.”

UN Watch has repeatedly documented how the special procedures system has been captured by ideologues who systematically single out Israel while ignoring far worse abuses by dictatorships. The organization has called for fundamental reform, including greater accountability, transparent funding rules, and mechanisms to remove mandate-holders who breach the Code of Conduct.

Guterres’ term ends in December 2026. UN Watch urges member states and his successor to treat the Secretary-General’s own words as a mandate for urgent change: special rapporteurs who are “totally out of control” cannot continue to speak in the name of the United Nations.

BREAKING: Secretary-General admits anti-Israel bias among UN's human rights experts, saying “many rapporteurs are totally out of control.”

António Guterres previously called UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese “a horrible woman.” pic.twitter.com/ozaPx8ncH3

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) August 26, 2026

The post UN Chief Guterres Admits Special Rapporteurs Are “Totally Out of Control” — After Privately Calling Francesca Albanese a “Horrible Person” appeared first on UN Watch.

In a response on X to a featured post by UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, Albanese wrote: “Calling me Hamas Spokesperson is outright defamation, something one might expect from a decent platform that breaks its own rules, but perhaps not from Twitter’s current patron. Am I right, @Twitter?”

Rather than address the extensive public record of her statements and conduct, Albanese is effectively calling on Elon Musk, the owner of X, to censor criticism of her pro-Hamas actions and statements.

Neuer replied directly: “Please sue me, Ms. Albanese. As you are a non-lawyer, let me explain: Truth is an absolute defense. I repeat: You are Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the UN. I would love to put your record before a court. Of course, to sue me, you’d have to admit you know exactly who I am.”

In anticipation of such a court case, Neuer posted a series of evidentiary “exhibits,” including:

• Albanese’s own statements minimizing and “putting in context” Hamas’s October 7 massacre while it was underway, blaming Israeli “aggression.”
• Her repeated justification and praise of Hamas as a political force that “built schools, public facilities, hospitals” and her claim that eliminating Hamas is part of a “genocidal logic.”
• Multiple instances of senior Hamas officials publicly praising and thanking Albanese for her UN reports and speeches, along with calls to boycott the “rogue Zionist entity.”

Neuer said:

“Francesca Albanese cannot refute the facts of her record, so she resorts to crying ‘outright defamation’ and trying to get X to censor the truth on her behalf. This is the classic tactic of those who abuse the language of human rights while whitewashing terrorists.”

“For years we have documented that Albanese functions as Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the United Nations. She has repeatedly inverted the Holocaust, invoked classic antisemitic tropes about Jewish power and the ‘Jewish lobby,’ justified or “contextualized” the October 7 massacre, and received open praise from Hamas leaders. Multiple democratic governments—including the United States, France, Germany, and Canada—have condemned her for antisemitism and Holocaust inversion. She is the first UN expert in history to receive such rebukes from these countries.”

“Truth is an absolute defense. If Albanese believes she has been defamed, she should sue me. I invite her to put her full record before a court of law. Discovery would expose many of her private antisemitic emails and Whatsapp messages that are well known among UN insiders. Until then, her demand that Elon Musk, as the owner of the X platform, should silence accurate criticism only underscores how far she has fallen from any pretense of impartiality or integrity.”

UN Watch has long tracked Albanese’s pattern of conduct, including her appearances before audiences linked to Hamas, her refusal to condemn Palestinian terrorism while systematically demonizing Israel, and her violations of the UN Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate Holders. The organization has repeatedly called for her removal and documented that her purported term renewal was carried out in violation of UN rules.

The post Francesca Albanese Cries “Defamation,” Demands Elon Musk Censor Hillel Neuer For Calling Her “Hamas’s De Facto Spokesperson” appeared first on UN Watch.

Legal observers say the ruling strengthens the administration’s position and raises serious questions about the viability of Albanese’s case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the government’s request to keep the sanctions in effect pending appeal, reversing a lower court ruling that had temporarily blocked enforcement of the measures imposed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The ruling means that the sanctions designation against Albanese will remain fully enforceable throughout the appeal.

In a separate opinion accompanying the court’s order, Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, joined by Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, suggested that Albanese’s central constitutional claim may fail because she is a foreign national acting outside the United States.

The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14203, which authorizes measures against foreign nationals who directly assist efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected U.S. or allied persons without consent. The Trump administration cited Albanese’s advocacy in support of ICC proceedings targeting Israeli leaders.

For UN Watch, which has documented Albanese’s conduct for years and filed submissions in the case, the ruling marks a significant turning point.

“This is far more consequential than the court’s earlier administrative stay,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. “The sanctions were already back in force. What changed today is that the appellate court has now indicated, after reviewing the parties’ arguments, that the government has met the demanding standard required to keep those sanctions in place throughout the appeal.”

Neuer said the concurring opinion by Judges Katsas and Henderson was particularly significant.

“The real news is not that the sanctions remain in force,” he said. “The real news is that two federal appellate judges signaled that Albanese’s core First Amendment theory may fail altogether.”

“For months, Albanese and her supporters portrayed this case as a straightforward free-speech dispute. The court has now suggested that the threshold question may be whether the First Amendment protects a foreign UN official operating abroad in the first place.”

The appeals court did not decide the ultimate merits of the case, which will continue. However, legal experts generally view a stay pending appeal as an important indicator of how appellate judges assess the strength of the competing arguments.

“No one should pretend that today’s order ends the litigation,” Neuer said. “But when appellate judges begin questioning whether the constitutional right on which your lawsuit depends applies to you at all, that is a serious warning sign.”

“If that view ultimately prevails, the problem is not merely that Albanese loses an argument. The problem is that the legal foundation of her case begins to collapse.”

About UN Watch

UN Watch, a Geneva-based human rights NGO with consultative status at the United Nations, has documented Albanese’s support for Hamas terrorism, and has repeatedly called for accountability regarding her conduct as UN Special Rapporteur.

VICTORY: Francesca Albanese loses major battle as U.S. Court of Appeals denies her bid to suspend sanctions pending appeal. Sanctions to remain in force throughout the case. Two judges signaled her central First Amendment claim is unlikely to succeed. We submitted amicus brief. pic.twitter.com/frQY33MBjF

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 15, 2026

2/ Our legal brief to the D.C. District Court argued that Albanese used her UN mandate not merely to express opinions but to actively support, promote, and coordinate with the ICC's prosecution of Israeli and U.S. leaders — the precise conduct targeted by Executive Order 14203. pic.twitter.com/ZHRRYEfzQi

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 15, 2026

The post Appeals Court Keeps Sanctions on Francesca Albanese in Force, Signals Major Weakness in Her Case appeared first on UN Watch.

Bohl-Dencker had attended a Berlin screening of Disunited Nations, the ARTE documentary featuring Albanese, and said “I have never been in a room where I felt so much hatred.”

Albanese’s response to a grieving mother shocked many observers.

The incident is also a reminder of a question that deserves renewed scrutiny: how did ARTE’s documentary Disunited Nations come to present Albanese so uncritically despite the extensive public record of controversy surrounding her conduct?

Months before filming, UN Watch warned ARTE that the documentary risked becoming an advocacy project rather than an objective journalistic inquiry.

In response to ARTE’s request to interview Hillel Neuer — “in what they obviously planned as a hit job,” says Neuer — UN Watch sent ARTE a detailed email on August 24, 2025, raising concerns about the impartiality of the documentary’s director, Christophe Cotteret, showing how he demonstrated a clear bias against Israel.

UN Watch informed ARTE that:

• In the aftermath of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7^th, Mr, Cotteret shared a post entitled “How Israel systematically denies the massacres it commits.”

• In 2017, after President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Mr. Cotteret posted that it is really “Washington rather than Jerusalem that is becoming, for the current and (hopefully) short-lived American administration, the capital of Israel.”

• Even more troubling, the director Cotteret displayed specific bias concerning the object of his film. Despite Francesca Albanese being the first UN rapporteur in history to have been condemned by France, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands  — for antisemitism, Holocaust inversion, or ethical violations requiring the termination of her mandate — Mr. Cotteret has repeatedly expressed support for her.

• On May 5, 2024, on his Facebook account which is open to the public, Mr. Cotteret shared a video of Albanese speaking, with his comment:

For those who are still struggling with the use of the terms genocide and acts of genocide, I invite you to listen to Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, last night in Tunis.” Mr. Cotteret’s post was then shared by six of his Facebook friends, and liked by 10 others.

• The next week, Mr. Cotteret again promoted one of Albanese’s “genocide” accusations. On May 11, 2024, he shared a photo of Albanese speaking on a panel, and added this comment:

Tunis, right now. “A genocide is not a matter of opinion. But under law defined by genocide conventions.  As a lawyer, it’s a genocide” With @Francesca Albanese @RimaHassan and Michèle Sibony, from the Union of Jews for Peace.

• Arte was also warned that there were numerous more examples of Mr. Cotteret’s bias on the matters addressed by the documentary.

These concerns were particularly relevant because Albanese was already a highly controversial figure. By that time, France, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands had all publicly condemned her conduct, statements, or actions. Questions regarding antisemitism, Holocaust inversion, and repeated breaches of the standards expected of a UN mandate-holder were already well documented.

UN Watch asked ARTE to consider measures to prevent the bias, including to:

– Assign a different director — one who has not publicly endorsed Ms. Albanese’s positions — in order to guarantee objectivity.

– Including an independent editorial reviewer, with no prior record of statements on Israel or Ms. Albanese, to ensure balance.

– Ensure that at least half of the speaking time in segments on the UN in general and Ms. Albanese in particular is given to critics of their records, as opposed to their supporters.

– Disclose to viewers whether any of the film project’s funding partners, NGOs, or advisory contributors have taken public positions on Israel or in support of Ms. Albanese.

– Confirm in writing that no part of the program will characterize Israel’s defensive actions as ‘genocide’ without including immediate rebuttal by credible legal experts.

– Consider including, instead of (or alongside) a monologue by Ms. Albanese, a moderated debate between her and one of her critics.

ARTE rejected these requests.

In its response, the broadcaster instead emphasized its reputation, the director’s professional credentials, and the fact that sharing views on social media “in no way constitutes an editorial line.”

Yet that response largely sidestepped the central issue: whether someone who had repeatedly and publicly endorsed Francesca Albanese’s views was the appropriate person to direct a documentary centered on Francesca Albanese and her critics.

The finished product answered that question. Rather than critically examining Albanese’s extensive record of inflammatory statements, ethical controversies, and repeated condemnations by democratic governments, Disunited Nations largely adopted her narrative. Critics were portrayed as obstacles or antagonists. Serious allegations against Albanese received little meaningful scrutiny. Viewers were presented with a portrait that was overwhelmingly sympathetic to its central protagonist.

In retrospect, the concerns raised to Arte by UN Watch before filming appear not only reasonable but prescient.

ARTE assured UN Watch that its editorial process would guarantee objectivity. The documentary that ultimately aired demonstrated the opposite.

The recent controversy involving Sonja Bohl-Dencker does not stand apart from the broader story. It highlights once again the gulf between the image of Francesca Albanese presented in Disunited Nations and the conduct that has repeatedly generated international criticism.

When journalists are warned about potential bias and choose to dismiss those warnings, they should not be surprised when viewers later question the credibility of the result.

Disgusting: On October 7th, Hamas murdered 22-year-old Carolin Bohl. Her mother recently attended an event with U.N. official Francesca Albanese, which she described as “a room where I felt so much hatred.” Albanese responds: “Change medication.”https://t.co/kYdMauUJ6U pic.twitter.com/i0KeH1FtvT

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) June 9, 2026

The post After Albanese Mocks Mother of Hamas Victim, questions for ARTE on film screened at Berlin event appeared first on UN Watch.

 (Selected statements as of March 12, 2026 — click here for PDF)

Antisemitism

• In July 2014, Albanese fundraised for her former employer UNRWA by postingthat America is “subjugated by the Jewish lobby.” She recently doubled down on this statement in a May 2025 interview with Al Jazeera.
• In July 2014, Albanese posteda message addressed to the BBC that “the Israeli lobby is clearly inside your veins” and spoke of an Orwellian nightmare caused “once again by Israel’s greed.”
• On October 7, 2023, as the Hamas massacre was still unfolding, Albanese minimized the atrocities by posting: “Today’s violence must be put in context.”
• Albanese denied that the October 7 Hamas massacre was the worst antisemitic attack on Jews since the Holocaust, instead justifying it as a “reaction to Israel’s oppression.”
• On Ocober 22, 2025, Albanese reposted the statement: “Israel is the incarnation of evil.”
• On January 6, 2026, Albanese quote-tweeted the statement: “Israel is pure evil in a way the world just has never seen before.”
• In December 2024, Albanese accused Israel of the “depravity of the century.”
• Albanese questioned whether six Israeli hostages shot in the head by Hamas in a Rafah tunnel were “executed or killed,” implicitly lending support to the false rumor propagated by Hamas supporters that IDF soldiers themselves had killed the hostages in a bombing.
• In July 2024, Albanese endorsed comparingthe Prime Minister of Israel to Adolf Hitler.
• In August 2024, Albanese compared contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis by referringto Gaza as “the largest and most shameful concentration camp of the 21st century.”
• In October 2024, Albanese comparedIsrael with the “Third Reich” and its “pure race” laws.
• In June 2024, Albanese posted that “Israel has been an apartheid state toward the Palestinians ‘ab initio,’” effectively denying Israel’s legitimacy and the Jewish right to self-determination in Israel from the beginning.
• In September 2024, again rejecting Israel’s legitimacy dating back to 1948, Albanese posted on X that “even stones of the UN building in NY know that Israel is an apartheid state” that must “offer an apology and reparation to millions of Nakba survivors and all those it has tormented and persecuted for decades.”
• In June 2025, Albanese told El Pais that “Israel commits crimes like it breathes.”
• Albanese condemned Israel’s June 2024 rescue of four hostages as “The #Nuseirat massacre,” while ignoring Hamas culpability for taking the hostages, holding them in civilian homes, and attempting to prevent the rescue by shooting at the soldiers carrying it out, endangering Palestinian civilians in the vicinity.
• Albanese boosted a claim that the LA fires were linked to Israel’s actions in Gaza as “symptoms of the same disease,” and she added, “all injustices are connected.” (January 12, 2025).
• Albanese routinely calls for arms embargoes on Israel but completely ignores Iran’s role in supplying Hamas with weapons and military training.

Disinformation and Incitement

• Albanese spread a conspiracy theory blaming the CIA and the Mossad for the 2015 Paris terrorist attack by ISIS that massacred Charlie Hebdo journalists. (January 11, 2015).
• Albanese cited widely debunked Lancet article to falsely claim that in first nine months of war, Israel killed 186,000 Palestinians. (July 8, 2024).
• During the war in Iran, Albanese quote tweeted a fake, AI-created image of coffins of Iranian schoolgirls, and refused to remove it after it was identified as fake. (March 3, 2026)
• Albanese accused Israel of using dogs to “torture” and “rape” Palestinians citing no sources. (May 10, 2025).
• Well after it was established that a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket hit the parking lot of Gaza’s al-Ahli Hospital on October 17, Albanese continued to promote the false narrative that this was an “atrocity” caused by an Israeli “strike.” (October 19, 2023).
• Albanese claimed that Hitler’s ideology remains “in the DNA of the Western system.” (June 23, 2025).
• Albanese pressured the media to hide the fact that a Hamas-run entity supplies their casualty statistics on Gaza. (May 3, 2025).
• Albanese embraced the ridiculous claim that “Zionists are staging antisemitic incidents.” (May 30, 2025).
• Albanese defended the failed “Flotilla,” absurdly accusing Israel of an “act of aggression” against the United Kingdom. (June 9, 2025).
• Albanese condemned Israel’s June 2024 hostage-rescue, claiming it reflected Israel’s “genocidal intent.” (June 8, 2024).
• Albanese completely exaggerated the casualties without citing any sources in an interview published in El Pais when she said “[In Gaza] there are 400,000 people who have disappeared.” (June 27, 2025).
• At a press conference at the U.N. in Geneva, Albanese claimedthat people “should start the thinking of 680,000” as the “real death toll in Gaza,” adding that of these 680,000 killed, 380,000 of those are infants under the age of five when census data shows that there aren’t even that many children under five in Gaza. In an interview the following week, Albanese admitted she used these numbers for the shock factor. (September 15, 2025).

Justifying and Minimizing Hamas October 7 atrocities

• On October 7, 2023, as the Hamas massacre was still unfolding, Albanese tweeted “Today’s violence must be put in context” and then proceeded to justify it as a response to “six decades of hostile military rule.” (October 7, 2023).
• Albanese went so far as to defend the Hamas October 7^th invasion of Israel in an interview with JNS, arguing that “Killing soldiers is not an international crime. I mean, why is this so unbelievable? You seem to be puzzled by this. What is the right to resist for the Palestinians? No one wants to live under oppression.” (December 22, 2023).
• Albanese continued to raise doubts about the October 7th atrocities, saying “This is the thing: it’s very difficult to also understand, to have clarity, on what has happened. But let’s assume that what they say in the media is true…” (January 14, 2024)
• In an interview with British Channel 4 News, Albanese, who repeatedly calls Israel’s military operation in Gaza a “genocide,” refused to call Hamas’s heinous massacre of 1200 Israelis on October 7^th an act of genocide. Instead, Albanese criticized those who call the atrocities a ‘genocide’ to justify the “brutal revengeful response” by Israel. (March 18, 2025).
• She defended pro-Palestinian guests on Piers Morgan Uncensored for refusing to condemn Hamas for October 7^th, posting “When someone feels entitled to ask any Palestinian to condemn the horrors and crimes of October 7—after decades of brutal occupation, dispossession, massacres after massacres, torture and humiliation—I stop taking them seriously. Moral authority doesn’t come from selective memory.” (May 16, 2025).
• On Hamas’s sexual violence against Israeli women, Albanese’s first reaction on October 11, 2023 was to deny and minimize. She tweeted “Caution!” “ISR military did not confirm such claims” and warned that “Divulging unverified information risks to escalate tension & endanger lives.” (October 11, 2023).
• Instead of standing with Israeli women, Albanese demonized them in a repugnant tweet on International Women’s Day—March 8, 2024, writing that they “they will be haunted forever” when they “realize” what they have “done” and what they have “become.” (March 8, 2024).
• Even after the publication of extensive witness testimony, photo, video, and forensic evidence and reports by two UN entities affirming the sexual violence committed by Hamas, Albanese continues to engage in denial. In a July 8, 2025 interview on Sky News, in response to a question about a new Israeli report detailing the evidence on Hamas sexual crimes, Albanese again questioned whether such crimes had in fact occurred. She said “I cannot pronounce myself on violence that I don’t know of… IF it has occurred, of course, it deserves justice.” (July 8, 2025).

Demonizing Israel

• Albanese quote tweeted: “Israel is pure evil in a way the world just has never seen before.” (January 6, 2026).
• Albanese reposteda tweet describing Israel as “the incarnation of evil” while praising Iran’s Ayatollahs as morally superior, even going so far as to say that “the Ayatollahs, compared to the Zionists, become Doctors Without Borders.” (October 22, 2025).
• Albanese condemned Israel’s targeted assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr as “murders” and “acts of aggression.” (August 10, 2024).
• Albanese deemed Israel’s targeted strike on Hamas Commander Mohammed Deif, one of the masterminds behind October 7, as “senseless massacre of Palestinian civilians.” (July 13, 2024).
• Albanese tweeted “While we savor our #summer, #Israel continues to displace, starve, torture, and murder Palestinians…” (July 1, 2024).
• Albanese reacted to the Israeli rescue of hostages from Gaza in June by accusing the Jewish state of “genocidal intent turned into action,” prompting a German Member of Parliament to condemn her “disgusting commentary,” adding that Albanese “must finally be removed from her position as UN Special Reporter.” (June 8, 2024). Albanese later dubbed the hostage rescue as “The #Nuseirat massacre.”
• In honor of International Women’s Day, Albanese demonized female Israeli soldiers saying they “will be haunted forever” when they realize what they have done to Palestinian women. (March 8, 2024).
• In December 2023, Albanese tweeted that “what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, especially in Gaza, is the “monstrosity of our century.”
• In multiple tweets in October 2023, Albanese denied that Israel was acting in self-defense and accused it of “carpet bombing” Palestinian civilians and of “ethnic-cleansing” against Palestinians. (October 14, 21, 26, and 27, 2023).
• Before Israel started its ground invasion, Albanese led an official UN statement by seven experts warning of “genocide” in Gaza. (October 19, 2023). Albanese had already accused Israel of genocide prior to October 7 when she endorsed a claim that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians. (March 1, 2023). Indeed, she has been falsely accusing Israel of “genocide” since at least July 2014.
• Less than ten days after the Hamas atrocities, and with the terrorist leaders threatening to repeat the massacre, she called Israel’s operation against Hamas a policy of “revenge” against Palestinian civilians. (October 16, 2023).
• Albanese has equated the Palestinian “Nakba” with the Nazi Holocaust. (January 20, 2022).
• After the Hamas-instigated war with Israel in May 2021, Albanese organized events focused on demonizing Israel, including a panel titled “Israel Apartheid Exposed: What’s Next?” (June 9, 2021).
• Albanese accuses Israel of apartheid, including against Arab Israelis. (May 14, 2021).
• Albanese equates Israeli bombings in Gaza with indiscriminate Hamas rockets on Israeli civilians and deems both to be war crimes – “Dropping bombs and killing civilians is a WAR CRIME (no self-defense can be invoked).” (May 14, 2021).
• Albanese dubbed Israel’s May 2021 airstrikes on the sources of Hamas rocket fire against Israeli civilians as “horrific” and “immoral.” (May 12, 2021).

Rejecting Israel’s Right to Exist

• In an interview for the Palestine Chronicle, Albanese attacked Israel’s very existence, saying the Jewish state is “in long-standing breach of the basic principles of international law, which started 70 years ago with the forced depopulation of two-thirds of the indigenous Arab population in what became the State of Israel in British Mandate Palestine.” (October 28, 2021).
• In July 2024, Albanese called to end “Israel’s Apartheid regime,” after posting the month before that “Israel has been an apartheid state toward the Palestinians ‘ab initio,’” a complete rejection of Israel’s legitimacy and right to exist. (June-July 2024)
• Albanese tweeted about Israel’s “violent 55 year-old occupation,” and then endorsed her follower’s correction (later deleted) that it is “74 years, not 55.” Albanese responded to the correction, tweeting “that is another story. Even more painful. Still longing for justice,” meaning, longing for justice regarding the very creation of Israel in 1948. Then Albanese liked a reply claiming that Israel’s occupation goes back more than 100 years, to the Balfour Declaration in 1917. (August 8, 2022).
• Albanese regularly posts to reject Israel’s right to self-defense against Palestinian terrorism as a matter of international law. In a June 19, 2025 post, Albanese denied Israel’s rights to self-defense and actively sought to render Israel defenseless against Palestinian terrorism. Separately, on June 14, 2025, she rejected that Israel’s targeted strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets constituted self-defense. (June 2025).
• Similarly, Albanese routinely calls for arms embargos on Israel, which would ultimately prevent Israel from being able to defend against deadly Hamas terrorism like the October 7^th She has been advocating for an arms embargo against Israel for years. In May 2021, she called to “end arms sales to Israel,” arguing this would “de-escalate the situation.” (May 13, 2021).

Calling to Expel Israel from the UN

• Albanese tweeted “Time to #UnseatIsrael from the UN.” (July 18, 2024).
• In reaction to Israeli operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Albanese accused Israel of violating international law “for decades” and asked “When will Israel be #Unseated?” (October 13, 2024).
• Albanese again pushed to expel Israel from the UN for being a “serial violator,” tweeting “Precision: unseating Israel is a consequence of it being serial violator of int’l law, including UN Charter, decisions, resolutions, administrative rules, etc.” (December 10, 2024).
• Criticizing the Israeli Knesset legislation banning UNRWA, Albanese tweeted “It is time to UNseat Israel.” (January 22, 2025).

Publicly Supporting Terror Groups

• Shortly after being appointed in May 2022, Albanese asserted “Palestinian violence is inevitable because the right to exist of the Palestinian people has been denied for 55 years.” (May 2022, RAI News Interview).
• Albanese also said “Israel says ‘resistance equals terrorism’ but an occupation requires violence and generates violence. The Palestinians have no other room for dissent than violence.” (June 2022, Atreconomia).
• Astonishingly, Albanese participated in a conference organized by the Hamas-linked “Council on International Relations -Palestine.” Speaking by video, she told the assembled terrorists, “You have a right to resist this occupation.” She added: “Israel says ‘resistance equals terrorism,’ but an occupation requires violence and generates violence.” Albanese participated in the Hamas-linked conference together with Ghazi Hamad, former Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister; Abd al-Latif al-Qanu, Hamas spokesperson; Ahmad al-Mudallal, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader; Khadr Habib, PIJ leader in Gaza; as well as Basem Naim and Isam al-Da’alis from Hamas. (November 2022, CIR Palestine).
• As far back as 2014, Albanese argued for a militarized Hamas to rule Gaza, writing “Israel demands a demilitarized (and ‘de-hamasised’) Gaza. So that it can rule over it the same way it does in the West Bank.” (July 25, 2014, X).
• In an interview with JNS, Albanese implied that the Palestinians had no other choice but to invade Israel in response to its “illegal” occupation and other violations—“So excuse me, what did the Palestinians have to do…I’m just asking what they are left with?” (December 22, 2023, JNS).
• Albanese blamed the October 7 Hamas atrocities on Israeli policies that had “turned some of the people into these individuals full of rage and vengeance.” (May 15, 2024, DAWN).
• Albanese repeatedly legitimized Islamic Jihad rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, instead condemning Israel’s airstrikes on the terrorist group (August 2022). She again endorsed this tweet in August 2024 when she whitewashed the Hamas October 7 atrocities, tweeting that “’The war’ did not start on October 7” and blaming Israel for all the past conflicts with Hamas. (August 10, 2024, X).
• When the United States sanctioned the PFLP-affiliated Addameer organization, Albanese tweeted support: “My full solidarity to @Addameer.” (June 11, 2025, X).

Terror Groups Use and Rely on Albanese’s Reports and Statements

• Basem Naim, Member of Hamas Politburo: The Hamas website Seraj TVreported that Dr. Basem Naim “expressed his appreciation” to UN Rapporteur Albanese and said “Today we listened with great care to the report of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, which she read before the Human Rights Council, in which she noted that the Israeli military occupation has turned the entire Palestinian territories into an ‘open prison.’” (Seraj TV, July 12, 2023).
• Jihad Taha, Hamas Spokesman: The Hamas website Seraj TVreported that Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha praised Albanese’s speech to the Human Rights Council and “renewed Hamas’s call to the international community and the United Nations to work to do justice to our people and our cause by condemning and boycotting the rogue Zionist entity.” (Seraj TV, July 11, 2023).
• Abdul Latif al-Qanou, Hamas Spokesman:The Telegram channel of Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV posted the following quote attributed to Hamas Spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou: “We commend the position of the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, in which she condemned the violations of the government of the gross occupation against our people.” (Al-Aqsa TV Telegram Channel, September 2, 2023).
• Ahmed Bahar, Former Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and Senior Hamas Leader: The Hamas website Seraj TVreported that Acting Speaker of the Legislative Council, Ahmed Bahar “praised” Albanese’s position at the Human Rights Council, as confirming the position that “the occupation is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestine in violation of all international laws, charters, and norms.” (Seraj TV, July 11, 2023).
• The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP): An official press statement from the PFLP published by the Resistance News Networkon Telegram stated that the PFLP “welcomed the report issued by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and her conclusion that ‘Israel’ committed acts of genocide in the [Gaza] Strip…” (Resistance News Network Telegram Channel, March 27, 2024).
• Hamas’s Shehab News Agency: The Telegram channel of Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agencyposted the following: “UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese: A Palestinian state already exists, and Israel is practicing apartheid against Palestinians and growing more brutal and sadistic towards its victims every day.” (Shehab News Agency Telegram Channel, July 22, 2024).
• Hamas’s Shehab News Agency: The Telegram channel of Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agencyposted the following: “UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese: Israel cannot claim self-defense in this conflict, and the deliberate killing of Palestinians continues and has reached a shameful stage.” (Shehab News Agency Telegram Channel, August 7, 2022).
• Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency: In an article titled “Palestinians have right to resist oppression: UN rapporteur,” Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agencyreported that Albanese said, “Palestinians – like it or not – have the right to resist oppression.” (Islamic Republic News Agency, September 17, 2024).

For more on Albanese, click here.

The post Francesca Albanese In Her Own Words appeared first on UN Watch.

UN Watch Welcomes U.S. Appeals Court Order Reinstating Sanctions on Francesca Albanese

UN Watch filed an amicus brief in the case, submitting dossier on her record of abuse

GENEVA, May 23, 2026 — UN Watch today welcomed a U.S. appeals court ruling that reinstates Washington’s sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur accused of helping the International Criminal Court target Americans and Israelis, and who was condemned by France, Germany, Canada, and numerous other countries for spreading antisemitism and Holocaust inversion.

In an order issued Friday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed a lower court order that had blocked the measures announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 9, 2025. The appellate court ruling allows Washington to “implement and enforce” Albanese’s designation as a sanctioned foreign national while the court considers the government’s emergency appeal.

The sanctions stem from allegations that Albanese directly supported efforts by the International Criminal Court to prosecute American and Israeli nationals. The Justice Department argued in its emergency motion that the district court’s injunction improperly interfered with U.S. national security and foreign policy powers, and that Albanese, as a foreign national residing abroad, does not enjoy First Amendment protections under the U.S. Constitution.

UN Watch, an independent Geneva-based human rights organization, filed an amicus curiae brief in the district court opposing the preliminary injunction sought by Albanese’s family. The brief argued that Albanese’s conduct went beyond protected speech and constituted active coordination with ICC prosecutorial efforts targeting U.S. and Israeli officials.

“Today’s ruling is an important victory for accountability and for the principle that no UN official is above the law,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. “The appeals court recognized that the sanctions should remain in force while the case is reviewed, after a lower court wrongly suspended measures aimed at protecting America and its allies from politically weaponized international prosecutions.”

“Francesca Albanese did not merely express opinions. She used her UN mandate to campaign for ICC prosecutions against democratic leaders and American companies,” Neuer said. “That is precisely the conduct at issue in this case.”

UN Watch’s amicus brief documented what it described as Albanese’s sustained advocacy urging the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israeli officials, as well as U.S. corporations and institutions. The filing argued that her activities constituted coordinated support for ICC actions rather than independent academic commentary.

The UN Watch submission also included a detailed dossier documenting dozens of public statements by Albanese urging ICC prosecutions of Israeli and American officials, endorsing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on international courts to pursue what she described as “apartheid” and “genocide” cases against Israel.

The UN Watch filing also catalogued statements in which Albanese questioned Hamas atrocities, compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and amplified statements describing Israel as “the incarnation of evil.”

The D.C. Circuit ruling was issued to allow the court sufficient time to consider the government’s motion for a longer stay pending appeal. Briefing will continue through early June.

“This is not the end of the case, and the court will soon hear further arguments,” Neuer added. “But today’s decision sends a serious signal that the administration’s sanctions authority — especially in matters touching national security and foreign affairs — cannot simply be brushed aside.”

The post UN Watch Welcomes U.S. Appeals Court Order Reinstating Sanctions on Francesca Albanese appeared first on UN Watch.

GENEVA, May 14, 2026 — In response to yesterday’s decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily pausing the enforcement of U.S. sanctions against Francesca Albanese, UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer issued the following statement:

“It is important to be clear about this ruling. This is only a preliminary injunction issued at an early stage of litigation. The court has not issued a final ruling on the merits of the case, nor has it vindicated Francesca Albanese’s conduct or statements. The decision temporarily pauses enforcement of sanctions while the litigation proceeds.

The opinion primarily addresses constitutional and procedural questions, including First Amendment concerns related to sanctions imposed in response to speech. It does not endorse Ms. Albanese’s rhetoric, her conduct as a U.N. official, or the substance of her claims.

The underlying concerns about Ms. Albanese remain unchanged. She is the first U.N. special rapporteur in history to be formally condemned by numerous democratic governments for Holocaust inversion, antisemitic rhetoric, and gross misconduct. More than a dozen governments including the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom have publicly denounced her statements and conduct.

Ms. Albanese has repeatedly compared Israelis to Nazis (as recently as last week), accused the United States of being controlled by the ‘Jewish lobby,’ minimized or rationalized Hamas terrorism, promoted statements calling Israel “the incarnation of evil,” and turned a U.N. mandate that is supposed to uphold impartial human rights principles into a platform for political activism and extremism.

The ruling is not a moral vindication, and it does nothing to restore the credibility that she has squandered through years of inflammatory conduct and justification of Hamas terrorism. We support the call by leading democracies for Albanese to resign.”

Key Documents and Sources

• Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing – UN Watch report documenting inflammatory rhetoric, ethical violations, and financial improprieties by Francesca Albanese.
• UN Watch Legal Memo – Proving that Francesca Albanese no longer enjoys diplomatic immunity and that her UN term was never lawfully renewed.
• Condemnations Against Francesca Albanese – List of 14 governments including France, Germany, and Canada, that have condemned Albanese for antisemitism, Holocaust distortion, or gross ethical abuses requiring her resignation.

About UN Watch

United Nations Watch is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva whose mission is to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick of its own Charter. UN Watch’s authoritative reports are regularly cited by major media and presented in numerous European parliaments. For more information, visit www.unwatch.org.

“I deeply appreciate the valuable work performed by UN Watch. Informed and independent evaluation of the United Nations’ activities will prove a vital source as we seek to adapt the Organization to the needs of a changing world.”
— Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

The post UN Watch: Preliminary Injunction on Albanese Sanctions Is “Not a Moral Vindication” appeared first on UN Watch.

SHARE: YouTube | X (Twitter) | Facebook 

After Francesca Albanese presented her annual report, it was endorsed by Iran, Cuba, and other tyrannies, UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer took the floor to respond in the interactive dialogue, and again in the general debate. The PLO ambassador kept banging on the table to interrupt, objecting that UN Watch was out of order. The Chair agreed. Judge for yourself — see excerpts below.

Francesca Albanese: 

“Good morning, Excellencies. Apartheid Israel has created a torturous environment for millions of people for generations… I do not care about what religion Israel claims while it tortures, it slaughters, it starves, and it burns children alive with their parents… Those who document and pursue accountability, myself and the ICC judges and prosecutors continue to be targeted. Sanctions, discredited, silenced…”

Pakistan for the Islamic States:

“The televised holocaust of the Palestinian people…”

Palestine:

“the Judaization of Jerusalem…”

Qatar:

“policy of apartheid…”

China:

“Israel is seriously violating international law…”

Islamic Republic of Iran:

“Attacks by Israeli regime across the region…”

North Korea:

“The continued violation of human rights by Israel…”

Chair:

“I give the floor to United Nations Watch.”

Hillel Neuer: 

The post Hillel Neuer Challenges Francesca Albanese at UN—PLO Moves to Shut Him Down appeared first on UN Watch.

SHARE: YouTube | X (Twitter)

At today’s session of the Human Rights Council, UN Watch took the floor to confront UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese over her latest report on torture—exposing glaring omissions, factual distortions, and a pattern of conduct that has drawn condemnation from leading democracies around the world. The report was also refuted in detail by UN Watch.

UN Watch Testimony Delivered by Hillel Neuer before the U.N. Human Rights Council, Agenda Item 7 Interactive Dialogue with Speciual Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, March 24, 2026

Ms. Albanese, in your report on torture, why is there not one single mention of Hamas’ horrific torture of Israeli hostages?

You’ve said: “It’s not in my mandate.” But on March 4^th, you signed a UN statement condemning US and Israeli strikes in Iran.

Are you mandated to speak on events a thousand miles away from your focus area, and not to say one word on the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7^th, and for two years after in their Gaza tunnels?

And when you choose to speak on Iran, why is it only to defend the regime—after you refused to say a single word for the thousands of protesters they massacred?

One year ago, the Council President announced that he spoke to you about your conduct, and that you acknowledged his considerations.

However, on September 15, you said “380,000 children under five” were killed in Gaza. Are you aware, this is more than the entire population of children under five in Gaza?

On October 22, you reposted this statement: “Israel is the incarnation of evil.”

Yes or no, is this still your position?

On January 6, you reposted this: “Israel is pure evil in a way the world has never seen before.” Yes or no, is this still your position?

Canada and Germany condemned you for antisemitism and Holocaust inversion. The French Prime Minister has called for your resignation. The UK has called for an investigation. Italy, Netherlands, Argentina and others condemned your conduct. When so many democracies speak with one voice, the problem is not them—it’s you.

(Albanese did not respond.)

As she sat at the UN dais, I asked Francesca Albanese:
Why did you ignore Hamas's torture of hostages?
Why do you only speak for the Iranian regime, never for its people?
Yes or no, do you stand by your statement that “Israel is the incarnation of evil”?

She refused to answer. pic.twitter.com/8FckRcEXhD

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 30, 2026

____________________

The post “Not in My Mandate”? UN Watch Challenges Albanese’s Double Standards appeared first on UN Watch.