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Petition to fire UN special rapporteur surpasses 40,000 signatures

The latest initiative by UN Watch insists that “the corrupt and antisemitic U.N. rapporteur has to go.”

Francesca Albanese
Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, briefs reporters at the U.N. Headquarters, in New York City. Credit: Loey Felipe/U.N. Photo.

UN Watch published a petition urging for the removal of Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, that so far has received more than 40,000 signatures towards a goal of 51,200.

The latest initiative says “the corrupt and antisemitic U.N. rapporteur has to go” and notes the ongoing investigation into alleged funding by pro-Hamas groups of a lobbying trip she made to Australia.

Other examples of bias, per the group, include writing “America is subjugated by the Jewish Lobby”; comparing Israelis to Nazis; and declaring at a pro-Hamas conference in November 2022 that “you have a right to resist,” alluding to the terrorist organization against Israel.

The petition concludes with UN Watch calling for countries to support the group’s U.N. resolution, made in July, to remove the official.

“Francesca Albanese abuses her U.N. position to incessantly spew antisemitism and Hamas propaganda, on social media, on TV and in her reports,” the group’s executive director, Hillel Neuer, stated on July 2. “Every day that she remains in office casts a shadow upon the human-rights council and the United Nations as a whole.”

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