FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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
