World Jewish Congress calls on UNHRC to reject Francesca Albanese’s renewal
Francesca Albanese’s mandate as Special Rapporteur is subject to renewal.
Francesca Albanese
World Jewish Congress Executive Vice President Maram Stern has urged UN Human Rights Council President Ambassador Jürg Lauber to reject the renewal citing Albanese’s well-documented history of antisemitism, repeatedly invoking harmful antisemitic tropes and undermining the legitimacy of Israel, including equating the Jewish state with Nazi Germany.
On 1 May 2022, she was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories for a three-year term.
Stern took particular issue with Albanese’s suggestion that the United States is “subjugated by the Jewish lobby” and her repeated comparisons between Israeli policies and Nazi atrocities as particularly egregious.
In his letter, Stern penned: “Ms Albanese has repeatedly made public remarks that propagate harmful antisemitic tropes, question the legitimacy of the State of Israel, and employ rhetoric that undermines the credibility of the Human Rights Council itself.
Her persistent lack of objectivity and failure to uphold a balanced and impartial approach required of her as Special Rapporteur compromises her credibility as an independent expert.
The World Jewish Congress strongly calls upon the Human Rights Council to reject the renewal of Ms. Albanese’s mandate. We urge the Council to immediately appoint a new Special Rapporteur whose embodies fairness, objectivity, and a genuine commitment to peace, justice, and the equal dignity of all peoples.”
At the current session of the UNHRC in Geneva, Yehuda Cohen, father of Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen, spoke on behalf of the World Jewish Congress about the importance of ensuring the immediate release of all hostages still held in Gaza.
Peter Wertheim, co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told J-Wire: “As the Australian affiliate of the Works Jewish Congress, the ECAJ wholeheartedly endorses its call on the UN not to renew Ms Albanese’s appointment. We have not forgotten her ludicrous claim that Israel had no right to defend itself against the Hamas atrocities on Oct 7, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Her perverse distortions of international law have been symptomatic of the decline of the UN.”
