Watchdog org calls for sanctions against UN appointee accused of antisemitism

EXCLUSIVE — A United Nations watchdog organization is calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take action against an appointee of the international body whose second term is set to begin on May 1.

In a letter to Rubio, U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer argues that the U.S. government should sanction and deny entry and visas to Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Additionally, he called for Albanese to be stripped of diplomatic immunity.

Neuer describes Albanese in his letter as being "pro-Hamas" and says her reappointment was done "illegally."

UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 5, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS )

UN OFFICIAL REAPPOINTED DESPITE ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM

"Her purported reappointment this month was illegally carried out in violation of express U.N. rules requiring investigation of her misconduct, rendering her term renewal null and void," Neuer wrote.

When speaking with Fox News Digital, Neuer pointed to the DOJ’s recent decision to allow lawsuits against the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) as evidence that Rubio has the ability to act against Albanese.

Neuer argued that the U.S. should act using a similar principle to the one used in cases against anti-Israel agitators, such as Mahmoud Khalil. He also wrote that "Albanese’s abuse of a global platform to spread hatred and legitimize terrorism demands an unequivocal response."

"Legally, it's very clear to me — I used to be an attorney in Manhattan for one of the major law firms in the United States — it's clear to be in any proper court of law this kind of procedural malpractice fraud would result in her not being a U.N. appointee," Neuer told Fox News Digital.

UN's Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, attends Maghreb-Mashreq Social Forum in Tunis, Tunisia on May 11, 2024. (Mohamed Mdalla/Anadolu via Getty Images)

LAWYERS FOR COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL BLAST RUBIO EVIDENCE LETTER: 'TWO PAGES, THAT'S IT'

When asked about U.N. Watch’s letter, Pascal Sim, Spokesperson, UN Human Rights Council, told Fox News Digital that, "Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (a country mandate), was appointed by the Human Rights Council on 1 April 2022, which was the last day of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council. She took up her function on 1 May 2022. Therefore, according to the "no longer than six years" principle, she can serve as Special Rapporteur until 30 April 2028."

Sim also asserted that "at no time has the Human Rights Council, in any formal or informal way, been called to 'reappoint' or 'renew' any Special Procedures mandate-holder. Whenever the Human Rights Council nominates any Special Procedures mandate-holder, it does so with the knowledge that the mandate-holder may serve up to six years in this function."

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Pierre Albouy)

Earlier this month, when the U.N. was set to consider Albanese’s reappointment, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Chair Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., urged the U.N. not to allow it to go through. 

Mast argued in a letter to U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) President Jürg Lauber that Albanese "unapologetically" used her role in the international body to "attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes, while serving as a Hamas apologist."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In the past, multiple countries, including the U.S., have condemned Albanese for her remarks. In fact, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has compiled a list of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements made by Albanese throughout the years. 

In October 2024, while serving as a U.N. appointee, she shared a post on X, calling it a "must-read for the ages." In the post, journalist Chris Hedges asserted that the "Israel lobby has bought and paid for Congress and the two ruling parties," making campaign donations by Zionists "a formidable barrier to peace."

Albanese also compared Israel’s war in Gaza to the Holocaust and, in August 2024, called the Gaza Strip a "concentration camp of the 21st century."

Fox News Digital reached out to Francesca Albanese and the State Department for comment on this report but did not receive a response in time for publication.