Since the beginning of the war in Israel, a new pundit (much loved by the Left) has been appearing on Italian television stations. Her name is Francesca Albanese, and she is a UN ‘special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.’
Albanese presents herself as an ‘independent expert’ on the Israeli-Palestinian situation and, holding a post for the United Nations, theoretically she should have balanced and impartial positions, but in reality, listening to her speeches, an openly pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli view emerges. To give just a few examples, a few days ago she declared, “Israel occupies like a military dictatorship” and “military response is useless.” Not exactly impartial statements.
In fact, Albanese does not appear to be impartial, as revealed in a 2022 report by UNwatch titled “Mandate to Discriminate.” UNwatch is a nongovernmental organization that analyzes and monitors the activities of the United Nations and discovered a serious omission in the conflicts of interest form submitted by Albanese for her UN candidacy. She reportedly failed to declare that her husband, Massimiliano Calì, previously worked for the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of national economy.
As journalist Antonino Monteleone explains on X:
In her application form to the UN, on page 14, Albanese was asked if there were any personal or financial relationships that would cause the candidate to limit the scope of the investigation, restrict disclosure, or in any way undermine or distort the results; about any factors that might directly or indirectly influence or otherwise impair the candidate’s ability to act independently in fulfilling the mandate; and about any grounds, current or past, that might cast doubt on the candidate’s moral authority and credibility. To all these, she replied, “No.”
Yet her husband Massimiliano Calì’s role was anything but marginal, [having served] as an economic adviser to the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of national economy in Ramallah.
The UNwatch report points out how Francesca Albanese has taken a number of public positions that “would leave one to doubt the absence of bias against Israel.” Emblematic in this regard is a [2021] interview with the Palestine Chronicle in which the UN staffer attacked Israel’s existence, claiming that the Jewish state is “in long-standing breach of basic principles of international law, which started 70 years ago with the forced depopulation of two-thirds of the indigenous Arab population in what became the State of Israel in [the] British Mandate Palestine.”
In light of these positions and especially the unspoken conflict of interest, it is fair to ask whether it is right for Francesca Albanese to continue in her post at the United Nations or whether it would be more appropriate for her to step down.
This article was originally published in Italian by Il Giornale on November 9, 2023. It was translated and edited for length and clarity. It appears here by kind permission.
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Since the beginning of the war in Israel, a new pundit (much loved by the Left) has been appearing on Italian television stations. Her name is Francesca Albanese, and she is a UN ‘special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.’
Albanese presents herself as an ‘independent expert’ on the Israeli-Palestinian situation and, holding a post for the United Nations, theoretically she should have balanced and impartial positions, but in reality, listening to her speeches, an openly pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli view emerges. To give just a few examples, a few days ago she declared, “Israel occupies like a military dictatorship” and “military response is useless.” Not exactly impartial statements.
In fact, Albanese does not appear to be impartial, as revealed in a 2022 report by UNwatch titled “Mandate to Discriminate.” UNwatch is a nongovernmental organization that analyzes and monitors the activities of the United Nations and discovered a serious omission in the conflicts of interest form submitted by Albanese for her UN candidacy. She reportedly failed to declare that her husband, Massimiliano Calì, previously worked for the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of national economy.
As journalist Antonino Monteleone explains on X:
Yet her husband Massimiliano Calì’s role was anything but marginal, [having served] as an economic adviser to the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of national economy in Ramallah.
The UNwatch report points out how Francesca Albanese has taken a number of public positions that “would leave one to doubt the absence of bias against Israel.” Emblematic in this regard is a [2021] interview with the Palestine Chronicle in which the UN staffer attacked Israel’s existence, claiming that the Jewish state is “in long-standing breach of basic principles of international law, which started 70 years ago with the forced depopulation of two-thirds of the indigenous Arab population in what became the State of Israel in [the] British Mandate Palestine.”
In light of these positions and especially the unspoken conflict of interest, it is fair to ask whether it is right for Francesca Albanese to continue in her post at the United Nations or whether it would be more appropriate for her to step down.
This article was originally published in Italian by Il Giornale on November 9, 2023. It was translated and edited for length and clarity. It appears here by kind permission.
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