U.N. envoy Francesca Albanese speaks at a U.N. Human Rights Council press conference in July 2023. Source: U.N. Human Rights Council/YouTube.
The Gateway Pundit reported that in a legal complaint filed in June, the watchdog group U.N. Watch accused the Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, of “gross violations of U.N. rules and professional ethics” for being sponsored and supported by Hamas-tied lobbying groups for a 2023 trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Albanese is in charge of investigating “Israel’s violations of the bases and principles of international law” for the United Nations.
According to the complaint filed to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türkwith, Albanese allegedly accepted honorariums and payments from activist and advocacy groups violating the U.N. code of conduct.
Albanese has a history of antisemitic, anti-Israel comments.
She has also claimed that Israel has no right of self-defense after the Hamas terrorists on October 7.
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, said, “Francesca Albanese’s unethical financial practices are a gross violation of UN rules. The United Nations should take immediate action to investigate these allegations and hold her accountable.”
Reports now reveal that, in a rare move, the United Nations has launched an investigation into Albanese.
BREAKING: The United Nations has opened an investigation into allegations that special rapporteur Francesca Albanese improperly took external funds from pro-Hamas groups to pay for her $20,000 lobbying trip to Australia. We are filing papers today to terminate her mandate. pic.twitter.com/G9jt58DIrt
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 2, 2024
The role of special rapporteur is a volunteer position technically independent of the United Nations. Expenses are to be paid for out of a designated budget, and acceptance of payments, including those for travel and honorariums, from “any governmental or non-governmental source” for “activities carried out in pursuit” of the special rapporteur’s mandate is strictly prohibited.
The U.N. Watch complaint alleges Albanese violated the UN code of conduct by illegally requesting payments for work done in her official capacity and argues that she circumvented the prohibition on accepting remuneration by directing honorariums to be paid to her research assistant.Correspondence cited by UN Watch in the complaint shows Albanese’s assistant, Sara Troian, requesting payment for a lecture on Albanese’s behalf.
Neuer said, “Francesca Albanese’s unethical financial practices are a gross violation of UN rules. The United Nations should take immediate action to investigate these allegations and hold her accountable.”
The complaint also includes communications from one of Albanese’s volunteer assistants requesting that an honorarium offered be directed to an unnamed research institute that supports Albanese’s office’s work.
Further, the complaint alleges that a Palestinian lobby group sponsored Albanese’s November 2023 trip to Australia, with a cost in excess of $20,000. Travel for special rapporteurs, according to U.N. Watch, is supposed to be paid for by the United Nations. Accepting sponsorship from lobby groups is prohibited.
While Albanese has disputed the allegations, she has yet to provide evidence to counter the assumptions and the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, or AFOPA, stated on its own website that the group had “sponsored” Albanese’s visit.
You can read the full complaint filed by UN Watch below:
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