GENEVA, May 21, 2025 — In a scathing letter, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division condemned UN official Francesca Albanese for a “defamatory” and “dangerous” campaign targeting institutions that support Israel, accusing her of abusing her office and spreading antisemitic falsehoods. Citing new revelations that she took funding from pro-Hamas groups, the DOJ called on the United Nations to immediately remove Albanese from her post.
The U.S. government’s action comes in wake of a bombshell new report from Swiss human rights group UN Watch that exposes how the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine engaged in a cover-up to hide illicit funding by pro-Hamas groups for her activities in Australia and New Zealand where she lobbied for divestment from Israel.
Because of the Australian connection, UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, an international lawyer, is today travelling to Canberra to meet with government officials and present the report before the national media.
Enitled “Nothing to Hide”, the report reveals that UN officials quietly acknowledged Albanese’s financial wrongdoing in recent findings, even as they cleared the way for the wrongful renewal of her mandate for another three years.
The UN committee contradicted Albanese’s repeated declarations since November 2023, echoed by the UN human rights office, that her travels were funded by the UN, finding instead that she received funding by “external groups” for her travels in Australia and New Zealand.
The report also called out Albanese’s “inappropriate” conduct regarding her practice of soliciting funds for UN activities, which she knew was wrong.
Funds were solicited at Albanese’s request for an honorarium that she asked donors to funnel to her research assistant Sara Troian, using invoices issued by Erasmus University in Rotterdam, whose International Institute for Social Studies hosted Troian for a fellowship.
Troian accompanied Albanese on her lobbying trips to Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington, as well on other trips. Today she is part of Albanese’s “Global Network for the Question of Palestine.”
Albanese’s financial wrongdoing constitutes a flagrant violation of the UN’s code of conduct, which requires UN officials to be impartial and independent and forbids them from accepting payment for activities carried out in pursuit of their mandate.
UN Engaged In Cover-Up to Hide Albanese’s Pro-Hamas Funding
The report reveals how the UN and Albanese both tried to conceal her wrongdoing over 16 months:
- Francesca Albanese repeatedly lied about the allegations of her financial misconduct, insisting her trip to Australia “was paid by the UN.” Even as the evidence mounted to the contrary, Albanese doubled down, declaring, “I have never had, and will never have, anything to hide.”
- The UN Secretary-General’s spokespersons falsely denied that his Secretariat oversaw the expenses of UN special rapporteurs. A UN spokesperson deflected media inquiries to the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council, which he claimed was responsible for the matter. In fact, Albanese’s expenses are overseen by the UN Human Rights Office, which answers to the UN Secretary-General.
- The UN Human Rights Office also peddled the lie that Albanese’s trip was funded by the UN, in a deceptive statement to the media in July 2024.
The attempts by multiple UN to hide the illicit funding of Albanese’s Australia trip raise serious questions about their integrity and commitment to the UN code of conduct.
Biased Investigation: Whitewash of Albanese’s Misconduct Paved Way For Illegal Renewal
Despite the UN’s denials of any wrongdoing, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Volker Türk, quietly handed the investigation into the allegations repeatedly raised by UN Watch to the UNHRC Coordination Committee in July 2024.
However, the Coordination Committee was compromised from the outset. It consisted of fellow UN special rapporteurs, including some of Albanese’s closest friends and supporters, many of whom had already made public proclamations of support for Albanese regarding these allegations.
In late March 2025, ahead of the UN’s planned reappointment of Albanese, UN Watch launched a global campaign to oppose the renewal of her mandate. As a result, the governments of the United States, Netherlands, Argentina, Hungary, and Israel all publicly opposed Albanese’s continuation in office.
As pressure mounted, the Coordination Committee suddenly broke its year-long silence on the allegations against Albanese. In March 2025, the committee, comprised of Albanee’s friends and colleagues, issued a whitewash conclusion to its investigation, clearing the path for her reappointment.
Yet Even the Biased Investigation Admitted Bombshell Findings
However, even the biased committee consisting of Albanese’s supporters was forced to acknowledge her significant wrongdoing:
- The UN committee confirmed that there was “external funding” for Albanese’s “internal trips within Australia and New Zealand,” a clear reference to the pro-Hamas groups that had boasted of sponsoring her trips.
- The investigation recognized that it “was inappropriate to suggest that the honorarium be transferred toward the fellowship of Ms. Albanese’s assistant.”
- The Committee further rebuked Albanese, calling for “the cautious use of external assistants to avoid perception of conflict of interest.”
UN Watch Calls for Urgent External Investigation
In light of these serious allegations of financial corruption and institutional cover-up of a top official, UN Watch demands an urgent investigation by external, non-UN experts, and full public disclosure of all of Albanese’s travel expenses, as well as the names of all lobby groups and other non-UN funders that sent her payments or financial benefits such as travel, hotels, restaurant meals, and other expenses, with the detailed amounts of each payment or benefit, since she was appointed in May 2022.
Comment by Hillel Neuer, UN Watch Executive Director:
“This is a scandal involving illicit funding and ties to Hamas terrorism. Francesca Albanese’s flagrant violation of the UN code of conduct required a full and independent investigation.”
“Albanese added insult to injury. Not only was she taking funds from Hamas lobby groups to lobby against Israel in the UN’s name, but she also lied about it.”
“For 16 months, Albanese falsely insisted that the UN financed her trip. She continues to abuse her position at the UN on a daily basis, and has been condemned for antisemitism, Holocaust inversion, and abuse of mandate by France, Germany, Canada, the U.S. and the Netherlands.
“She abuses her UN mandate to spread Hamas propaganda on social media, on television, and in her false reports. Every day she remains in her position casts a dark shadow over the integrity of the Human Rights Council and the UN as a whole.”
“This was a coordinated cover-up: Albanese lied, the UN lied to protect her, and a biased internal commission whitewashed her ethical abuses to enable the wrongful renewal of her mandate.”
“Still, even the biased UN panel was forced to recognize her financial wrongdoing. They didn’t want to go into the details — how much money Albanese took, the names of the pro-Hamas lobby groups and individuals who funded her — and that’s why a full investigation is urgent.”
