United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, on Tuesday called the sanctions imposed on her by the United States following her criticism of Washington’s position on Gaza a ‘violation’ of her immunity.
Luis Acosta / AFP
Pressure is mounting on the agency to radically shift its approach towards Israel.
When reporting on all three members of the United Nations’ anti-Israel inquiry resigning earlier this week, we noted that the continued presence of the agency’s ‘Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories,’ Francesca Albanese, meant its approach to the only democracy in the Middle East was unlikely to change too much.
But it appears as though even her position isn’t as stable as it at first appears.
Albanese has herself revealed in a telling interview that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not contacted her since she was sanctioned by Washington, which condemned her “biased and malicious activities.” In a blatant sign of some form of professional—if not personal—rift, Albanese said when asked, “you haven’t heard from him?”:
Never! Never heard from him. No, not now, not before. And I don’t think after.
Then, unconvincingly: “That’s OK, that’s OK”
REMINDER: Even U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thinks Francesca Albanese is “a horrible person.”
Q: Have you spoken to him since the sanctions against you were announced? Albanese: “No.”
Hillel Neuer, executive director of the monitoring group UN Watch, this week attacked the special rapporteur as not impartial, claiming she has “used the UN platform to spread her extremist political views: downplaying Hamas’s atrocities and justifying violence.”
Donald Trump’s nominee for UN ambassador, Mike Waltz, has also stressed the need to “challenge pervasive antisemitism” within the agency, complaining that
From 2015 to 2023, the General Assembly passed 154 resolutions against Israel versus 71 against all other nations combined.
Waltz has proposed the dismantling of the Brussels-backed United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, among other measures.
🇮🇱 LATEST from @michaelgwaltz: "From 2015 to 2023, the General Assembly passed 157 resolutions against Israel versus 71 against all other nations COMBINED."
— POLARIS National Security (@polarisnatsec) July 15, 2025
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
