Review committee says the antisemitism allegations against the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories are “rooted in disinformation.”
A United Nations committee empowered to review complaints against the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has dismissed allegations of antisemitism against her as being based on disinformation.
Several EU countries have called for the resignation of Francesca Albanese over comments she made about Israel’s war in Gaza during a Feb. 7 televised address.
But the committee’s six U.N. experts have criticized what they termed “vicious attacks, rooted in disinformation,” which they said were based on a doctored video of the U.N. official’s speech.
“We denounce actions by Ministers of certain States to rely on manufactured facts and criticise Ms Albanese for statements that she never made,” the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council said in a press release.
In her address, Albanese used the phrase: “We as a humanity have a common enemy.” During her comments and after her speech she said the words had referred to a “system” — which included media and Western governments — that supported Israel even as it perpetrated a “genocide” in Gaza.
But critics said Albanese had directed an antisemitic smear at Israel. An abridged version of the video, posted by the executive director of the UN Watch advocacy group, made it appear Albanese had referred to Israel as humanity’s common enemy. The altered video has been viewed more than 1 million times on X.
Demands for Albanese’s resignation followed. These were led by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and supported by Germany, Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Barrot’s call was applauded by U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner. Albanese was placed under U.S. sanctions last year, and the State Department condemned her “unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.”
Albanese has rejected the allegations of antisemitism fueled by the recent video clip.
“I’ve never said that. I’ve said something very different. But of course it’s been manipulated so as to corroborate the defamation against me,” she told France 24.
A spokesperson for Barrot said on social media that the push for her dismissal wasn’t based on Albanese’s most recent comments but reflected “a worrying accumulation of problematic statements.” Barrot said he plans to reiterate his call for Albanese to step down at next week’s meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
The responsibilities of the Coordination Committee — comprising independent experts in human rights, who are each also U.N. rapporteurs — include reviewing complaints against special rapporteurs and reporting back to the Human Rights Council. No formal complaint has been made against Albanese over her most recent comments this month and the committee was making a statement under their own volition, not as a formal finding.
“Instead of demanding Ms Albanese’s resignation for performing her mandate in very challenging circumstances — including persistent intimidation, coordinated personal attacks and unlawful unilateral sanctions — these Government representatives should join forces to hold accountable, including before the International Criminal Court, leaders and officials accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza,” the Committee said.
The Israeli government has repeatedly rejected accusations that it committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza during its two-year military offensive against Hamas militants in the coastal enclave.