UN Watch has urged UN High Commissioner Volker Türk to investigate Special Rapporteur Zeina Jallad’s conduct, appointment, and mandate funding. We exposed her mandate abuse, support for Hamas, and concerns over $1.5 million in funding from China, Russia, and Qatar to her mandate. See full text of our letter here, and below.
Previously, UN Watch exposed that, in a rare break from its own vetting process, the UN Human Rights Council bypassed its top-ranked candidate to appoint the Palestinian academic Jallad despite her having defended Hamas, justified “resistance” violence, and blamed the West — not terrorists — for the October 7 bloodshed.
View the Letter to High Commissioner Türk Here
Mr. Volker Türk
High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10
17 June 2026
Dear High Commissioner Türk,
On behalf of United Nations Watch, we urge you to launch an investigation into the conduct of Special Rapporteur Zeina Jallad, the integrity of the selection process that resulted in her recent appointment, and the funding and activities of her mandate.
First, since assuming office in May, Ms. Jallad’s conduct has blatantly violated Article 7 of the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate Holders, which requires mandate holders “to exercise their functions in strict observance of their mandate.” Out of three official statements that she has signed, two of them—one on the climate, and one on alleged Israeli violence—bear no nexus whatsoever to her mandate on unilateral coercive measures. As such, her actions exceed her mandate and are clearly ultra vires.
Second, Ms. Jallad was manifestly unqualified for appointment as a UN expert, and we urge you to investigate why and how she was nonetheless appointed. Her record prior to assuming office demonstrated her failure to meet the minimal standards for appointment, which include competence, integrity, probity, impartiality, honesty and good faith. Ms. Jallad publicly defended Hamas after October 7. She justified so-called “resistance” violence. She called for Israel’s expulsion from international bodies. For reasons unexplained, however, Jallad was selected instead of the Consultative Group’s first-ranked candidate, who possessed extensive expertise relevant to the mandate.
Third, as documented in a new UN Watch report, we urge you to investigate why this mandate has received nearly $1.5 million in earmarked contributions from China, Russia, and Qatar, at the same time as the mandate-holder issued reports and statements beneficial to these and other regimes with abysmal human rights records.
As we are sure you will agree, even the appearance of undue influence and conflicts of interest risks undermining the credibility of the Special Procedures system, which depends on mandate-holders respecting the guidelines of their mandates, and adhering to the principles of impartiality, independence and objectivity.
Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director
Today, UN Watch urged UN High Commissioner Volker Türk to investigate Special Rapporteur Zeina Jallad’s conduct, appointment, and mandate funding. We exposed her mandate abuse, support for Hamas, and concerns over $1.5 million in funding from China, Russia, and Qatar. pic.twitter.com/Fn57ZBu2Ky
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) June 17, 2026
Letter:https://t.co/qyHKatWxXS
ZEINA JALLAD: “Hamas is a political party. It's easy to, ‘But they did this.. But they did that…’ Hamas won the elections. Europeans boycotted Hamas. The entire world bashed Hamas. Israel imposed a blockade. And then, ‘Oh, they are revolting…’ pic.twitter.com/GpYBP34oG3
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) June 17, 2026
