UN Watch was quoted by media outlets around the world in October 2026 on various topics, including the Nobel Committee’s erroneous decision to award Navi Pillay the Peace Prize, our recently published UN Special Procedures Funding Database, Macklemore’s misguided championship of UNRWA, and Luai Ahmed’s forceful speech at the UN Human Rights Council.
Appeared in Newsmax, “The U.N. Scapegoats Israel,” October 5, 2026:
Key quote:
Tom Fletcher — let’s keep in mind, when he was British ambassador to Lebanon, he welcomed the role of Hezbollah. He, for the past year or two, as UN relief coordinator, has routinely echoed Iranian regime talking points, accusing America and Israel of harming the economy worldwide. He hasn’t said a word about the Iranian regime, how they destroyed Lebanon, destroyed Iraq, destroyed Yemen, destroyed Gaza. He gives them a free pass.
Appeared in Misgav Institute, “The UN’s Anti-Israel Ecosystem: Exposing the Machinery,” October 12, 2026:
Key quote:
When Guterres said these attacks did not happen in a vacuum, he was not entirely wrong. If he had a smidgen of introspection, Guterres might have said, “These attacks did not happen in a vacuum.” What schools did they go to, the thousands who attacked Israel? According to Johann Soufi from the UNRWA Legal Office in Gaza, 90% of Gazans went to UNRWA schools. The agency has become infested with terrorists, certainly in Gaza and Lebanon. People like [Philippe] Lazzarini had knowledge [of this], unless they were willfully blind. We sent them an enormous amount of documentation, and they should be held accountable. It’s complicity with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and governments should defund [them]. The U.S., Sweden, and now Finland have defunded UNRWA. It’s not enough.
Op-ed in The Dispatch, “Why Hamas Cheered Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize,” October 15, 2026:
Pillay’s accusation of genocide against Israel appears to be what prompted the Nobel. Her earlier achievements—as a judge in South Africa and on the U.N.’s Rwanda tribunal—were known for decades. That record deserves recognition. But it also makes her disregard for impartiality harder to excuse. She knew the standards. A reputation earned in one courtroom cannot exempt its owner from scrutiny in another. Nor can past courage transform a partisan investigation into justice simply because its findings carry the United Nations seal. Pillay was named to the inquiry for her authority as a judge, but she acted on the commitments of a campaigner. The Nobel Committee is now seeking to magnify her imprimatur. Hamas understands the benefit perfectly. Its war against Israel gains a prestigious legal vocabulary, and its victims recede behind an indictment of the state that defended them. That is why Hamas cheered. The Nobel Committee should now tell the world whether this is its desired outcome.
Op-ed in the Washington Reporter, “Hillel C. Neuer: Before donating to UNRWA, Macklemore and other celebrities should read its report card,” October 5, 2026:
Macklemore recently pledged $1 million of his net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s tour to six Palestinian-related organizations. Among them is UNRWA USA, the fundraising arm for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). “Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” Macklemore explained. Yes, they are — and that is precisely why the institution he has chosen to support should cease to exist. Macklemore and others who claim to care about Palestinian lives should read the report card before his concertgoers are duped into handing over millions in the name of supporting peace, when in fact they are funding the hatred that fuels war.
Quoted in Newsweek, “Israel Calls Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize Win ‘Disgraceful,’” October 9, 2026:
The criticism echoed a separate statement from UN Watch. The Geneva-based watchdog said it was “shocked” by the decision and argued that Pillay’s past statements about Israel should have disqualified her from receiving the prize. The organization accused her of bias and faulted her handling of the U.N. inquiry into Israel.
Quoted in Fox News, “Who is Navi Pillay? Nobel Peace Prize winner’s UN record renews fierce antisemitism accusations,” October 9, 2026:
Geneva-based UN Watch condemned Friday’s Nobel announcement, accusing Pillay of breaching the impartiality expected of international investigators. “We are shocked that the Nobel Committee honored Navi Pillay,” Executive Director Hillel Neuer said. “Her troubling record on antisemitism and gross breach of ethics in presiding over a notorious U.N. commission utterly disqualifies her from such an award.”
Quoted in Washington Examiner, “Left-wing foundations quietly fund UN human rights ‘experts,’ watchdog says,” October 20, 2026:
Research unveiled by the Geneva-based UN Watch on Monday traced funding from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation to current and former U.N. special rapporteurs. The watchdog raised concerns that such influence could compromise the rapporteurs, who the U.N. appoints as independent experts to monitor human rights abuses in specific territories. “These arrangements allow politically engaged foundations to support UN agendas through financial relationships that governments and the public cannot adequately scrutinize,” UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer said in a statement. “Independence requires more than an unpaid job title.”
Featured in The Australian, “Israel a true friend and ally to Iran’s brutalised people,” October 9, 2026:
Since 2015, the General Assembly has adopted 187 resolutions condemning Israel, according to UN Watch – more than twice as many as against Russia, China, Iran, Syria and North Korea combined. Israel alone is the subject of a permanent item on the Human Rights Council’s agenda. One UN body cites another until allegations take on the appearance of independent fact, and leaders continue to peddle false claims.
Quoted in The Washington Free Beacon, “Harvard Celebrates Its Boycott-Israel, Blood Libel Nobel Laureate,” October 9, 2026:
The Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, noted that in June 2020, she signed a manifesto calling on governments to “Sanction Apartheid Israel.” Subsequently, she accepted a position chairing “a Pakistani-sponsored UN Commission of Inquiry into alleged Israeli crimes,” violating the principle of impartiality. “Navi Pillay deserves the Nobel Peace Prize like the Ayatollah deserved to be elected to the U.N. women’s rights commission,” Neuer said.
Quoted in National Post, “Navi Pillay, who accused Israel of genocide, wins Nobel Peace Prize,” October 9, 2026:
U.N. Watch executive director Hillel Neuer sharply criticized the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday for awarding the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Pillay. “We are shocked that the Nobel committee honored Navi Pillay,” Neuer wrote on X, accusing her of a “troubling record on antisemitism” and a “gross breach of ethics” while chairing the U.N. commission investigating Israel. “By honoring Pillay, the Nobel committee has failed to uphold the principles it seeks to celebrate,” Neuer wrote. “International justice depends on impartiality.”
Featured in Townhall, “The Nobel Committee Just Made a Mockery of Its Peace Prize, and President Trump Called It Out,” October 9, 2026:
Pillay’s record is difficult to reconcile with an award for peace and human rights. According to UN Watch, the former U.N. human rights chief repeatedly handed Chinese representatives the names of dissidents without regard for their families’ safety. The group also accuses her of turning a blind eye during her tenure to human rights abuses in Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Belarus, Syria, and 27 other countries rated “Not Free” by Freedom House. And when Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, UN Watch says Pillay skipped the ceremony at China’s urging. In other words, she has spent her time criticizing the freest countries while giving actual human rights abusers a pass.
Featured in il Giornale, “Albanese Amnesia: Resolutions Against Everyone Except the Tsar,” October 3, 2026:
A champion of human rights, but only if she likes and cares about the victims. Otherwise, who cares, they can suffer. An analysis by UN Watch, a UN-accredited NGO tasked with monitoring the United Nations’ performance under its Charter, has once again exposed Francesca Albanese. It emerges that our Lady of Rights has never signed any joint statement of UN human rights experts regarding abuses committed by Russia. Never, not even by mistake. She did so for Palestine, it goes without saying, but also for Iran, Lebanon, and the regional escalation in Syria. But since becoming Special Rapporteur on Palestine on May 1, 2022, she has carefully avoided signing the statements of her colleagues who have repeatedly called for Russia to be held accountable for its actions against Ukraine, for internal repression, and for political persecution and arrests.
Featured in Windsor Star, “Experience ignored in money to Palestinians,” October 1, 2026:
In 2024, an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon killed Fathi al-sharif, whom Hamas would confirm as one of its senior operatives in the country. Al-sharif had not only been principal of a UNRWA school right up until 2023, but he had been head of Lebanon’s UNRWA teachers union. A scan of al-sharif’s social media by the group UN Watch also found photos of him attending Hamas events and inviting known Hamas leaders to his school.
Quoted in Maariv, “‘Anti-Semitism and ethical breaches’: the Nobel Committee’s decision causes a storm,” October 10, 2026:
Hillel Neuer, CEO of UN Watch, has sharply criticised the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay, citing what he describes as her biased and anti-Semitic conduct. Neuer, who has been monitoring Pillay for years, claims that her selection undermines universal human rights values. He noted that she had signed a manifesto calling for sanctions against the “apartheid state” and had appealed to President Biden to punish Israel. “When an investigator campaigns to punish a country even before examining the evidence, she undermines the credibility of her findings,” Neuer explained.
Quoted in Libero Quotidiano, “The Nobel Prize winner fails to recognise the genocide committed by China,” October 11, 2026:
A whistleblower on the genocide in Gaza but silent – or even complicit – regarding the genocide of the Uyghurs in China, as well as other human rights violations: this is the criticism levelled by UN Watch at the latest Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Navi Pillay. The Oslo Committee’s concerns about maintaining a balance are evident, given that no fewer than seven of the last nine prizes had been awarded to recipients considered to be pro-Western. “The Nobel Committee must provide an explanation to the dissidents whose names have been handed over to China,” says Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch.
Featured in il Giornale, “This is how it is celebrated. Professional anti-Semitism,” October 10, 2026:
The appointment has been contested by organisations such as NGO Monitor and UN Watch. The charge of genocide, as concluded by her commission, dates from 28 October 2025. She is now the queen of anti-Jewish hatred; who knows how much Francesca Albanese envies her. But no, the next award will be hers.
Quoted in Maariv, “The blunder by the UN Special Envoy to the Palestinian Territories,” October 7, 2026:
UN Watch sparked international condemnation and prompted a rare apology from Albanese after exposing this [her comments] in a post that garnered over a million views on X. Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, wrote: “This apology is unacceptable. You have repeatedly sought to erase the very meaning of anti-Semitism and engaged in Holocaust denial. You have apologised for anti-Semitic remarks in the past, only to retract them later. You are not acting in good faith. You must resign. For God’s sake, go.”
Featured in Il Foglio, “We were just missing a Nobel Prize winner who was against Israel. The one awarded to Pillay is a macabre peace prize following 7 October,” October 9, 2026:
In a study published in 2011 during Pillay’s tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Watch examined her record while leading the agency: there was absolute silence regarding abuses committed in Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Belarus, Syria, and 27 other countries classified as “not free” by Freedom House. During the first two years of her term, Pillay issued twenty-one statements concerning countries in the Middle East and North Africa; nine of these focused on Israel—which, by all accounts, is the only democracy in the region.
Featured in ice, “A speech at the UN in support of Israel goes viral: over 7.5 million views,” October 13, 2026:
Luai Ahmed is a journalist and content creator who grew up in Yemen as an anti-Semite. Following the 7 October attack, he visited Israel for the first time in November 2023 and became a staunch Zionist Muslim. This was his second speech as a representative of UN Watch at the UN Human Rights Council, following a previous viral speech he delivered in February 2025. Speaking as a representative of UN Watch during the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Ahmed needed just 90 seconds to dismantle the arguments put forward at the UN General Assembly by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Baz Sharif; the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas; and the President of Iran, Masoud Fazeshkian.
Quoted in Il Foglio, “‘From Cuba to cartoons: Pillay has sided with dictatorships and against freedom.’ Neuer speaks out,” October 14, 2026:
There is a culture at the U.N. of attacking the West, capitalism, and Israel. And Navi Pillay fell into line. Her track record is very poor on Iran. On Cuba, she has been largely silent. And on China, she was complicit.
Quoted in Globes, “Regular updates,” October 9, 2026:
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, said in response to Navi Pillay’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize: “Her troubling record regarding anti-Semitism and her blatant violation of ethical standards completely disqualify her from receiving such an award. Awarding the prize to Pillay risks rewarding prejudice rather than promoting peace.”
Featured in Israel Hayom, “‘Accomplice to genocide’: Nobel Peace Prize laureate who turned in opponents of the regime,” October 10, 2026:
Emma Riley, a lawyer and former employee of the Commission, claimed that during Pillay’s tenure, the UN had passed lists of Chinese dissidents on to the authorities in Beijing. Following yesterday’s award, the Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, demanded explanations from the Nobel Committee regarding the information passed on to the regime in Beijing.
Quoted in infobae, “‘Accomplice to the Uyghur genocide’: UN Watch questioned the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay,” October 9, 2026:
UN Watch questioned the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay and publicised allegations made by former United Nations official Emma Reilly, who claimed that the organisation’s then-head of human rights was “complicit in the Uyghur genocide.” The organisation called on the committee responsible for awarding the prize to provide an explanation. Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, called for a response from the Nobel Committee. “The Nobel Committee owes an explanation to the dissidents whose names were handed over to China,” he said, and asked how the allegations and the situation of the victims and their families had been assessed.
Quoted in AmericanThinker, “The Nobel committee issued its latest peace prize to a toad,” October 10, 2026:
They gave Navi Pillay a Nobel Prize for her report saying that on October 7th, it was Israel that attacked Hamas.
Featured in Post Timees, “A Nobel Peace Prize laureate has come under fire from Israel and other critics,” October 11, 2026:
The organisation UN Watch, which monitors the activities of the UN, also joined in the criticism, accusing Pillay of anti-Israel bias and of defending anti-Semitic remarks. The organisation’s director, Hillel Neuer, argued that Pillay’s actions as head of the UN Commission of Inquiry called her impartiality into question. UN Watch accuses Pillay of having, prior to leading the commission set up to investigate Israel’s actions, already publicly expressed views which, in the organisation’s assessment, indicated bias. Among other things, UN Watch refers to a statement signed by Pillay in 2020, which called on governments to impose sanctions on Israel. The organisation also criticises Pillay’s conduct in 2022, when her colleague Miloon Kothari used the term ‘Jewish lobby’ and questioned Israel’s right to be a UN member state. According to UN Watch, Pillay defended her colleague rather than unequivocally condemning his remarks.
Quoted in Azer News, “UN Watch condemns Nobel Peace Prize for Navi Pillay over alleged anti-Israel bias,” October 9, 2026:
UN Watch has strongly criticised the decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist and former United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay, accusing her of demonstrating bias against Israel and defending a colleague who made remarks widely condemned as antisemitic. UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer argued that Pillay’s record as chair of a UN commission investigating alleged violations by Israel raised serious questions about her impartiality. “The victims of discrimination deserve institutions that apply the same standards to everyone,” Neuer said.
Quoted in 21News, “‘Then let’s give weapons to the Palestinians’: Francesca Albanese’s response when asked about the Ukrainian resistance,” October 2, 2026:
The new clip also provoked the ire of Hillel Neuer, executive director of the NGO UN Watch and a longtime opponent of Francesca Albanese. According to him, this footage is “even worse” than the one broadcast the previous week, precisely because Albanese maintains her opposition to arms deliveries when confronted with their potential consequences. He calls her “a useful idiot of Putin” and demands her resignation from the UN.
Quoted in World Net Daily, “‘Netanyahu is FURIOUS’: Nobel committee chooses Israel-hating, genocide-claiming lawyer for peace prize,” October 9, 2026:
UN Watch described Pillay’s claims against Israel as “biased.”
Quoted in Aish, “Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay’s Long Record of Anti-Israel Hatred,” October 11, 2026:
UN Watch, which monitors UN agencies for bias, notes that Pillay “has a long record of one-sided statements that single out Israel for condemnation over alleged war crimes, human rights abuse and racism.”
Quoted in Son Dakika, “ADL and UN Watch have condemned the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay,” October 10, 2026:
UN Watch, a civil society organisation known for its pro-Israel stance and which monitors the activities of the UN, also condemned the awarding of the prize to Pillay. In a statement, UN Watch Chairman Hillel Neuer said: “We were shocked that the Nobel Committee has honoured Navi Pillay. Her worrying track record on anti-Semitism and the serious ethical breaches she committed whilst chairing a notorious UN commission completely disqualify her from such an award.” They argued that the credibility of the Nobel Peace Prize had been undermined.
