ALBAWABA - Several European governments have voiced sharp criticism of Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, for what she said at a recent public event. Frankreich has said that it will officially ask her to step down at the next UN Human Rights Council meeting.
The problem started when Albanese spoke at a forum put on by Al Jazeera and talked about new developments in the Palestinian situation. During her speech, she used words that some European officials said were rude and didn't fit with the neutrality that UN mandate holders are supposed to show.
Some people didn't like how she supposedly called Israel a "common enemy of humanity." They said that this kind of language goes beyond criticizing policies and could be used to target a state and its people.
France Leads the Call to Act
Lawyers were told by France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot that the country would bring up the problem at the February 23 meeting of the Human Rights Council. It wasn't appropriate for him to talk about politics, and Albanese's comments made him question her independence and fairness.
Barrot also said that her comments add to what he called a catalogue of controversial views and that they hurt the reputation of her UN job.
A message was sent to the Foreign Ministry by French MP Caroline Yadan and other lawmakers asking for a review of Albanese's role because they were worried about his impartiality and professional standards.
More reactions across Europe
Antonio Tajani, Italy's foreign minister, said that Albanese's comments do not reflect the stance of the Italian government and are not in line with the duties of a UN human rights official.
Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the foreign minister of Austria, said the language used was wrong and warned that it could hurt the impression of fairness.
Johann Wadephul, Germany's foreign minister, said he supported the UN's system of independent rapporteurs but that Albanese had made many incorrect comments. He also said that Albanese's recent comments about Israel made him very worried about her ability to keep her job.
Responses from Israel and Advocacy Groups
Yair Lapid, the head of the Israeli opposition, called Albanese a "extremist envoy" and said that if she wasn't removed, it would show that antisemitic speech was okay.
The Anti-Defamation League also called for action, saying that her views went beyond what was allowed as criticism of human rights and showed broad generalizations.
Albanese denies the claims
Albanese has denied the charges, saying that what she said was taken out of context. She said that her criticism wasn't aimed at a specific country or group of people, but at larger systems that were linked to supposed violations of international law. She put out the full recording of her intervention to back up her point of view.
In a message to António Guterres last year, the US asked for her to be fired, saying she was antisemitic and helpful to terrorists. Albanese has denied those claims and said that the punishments she was given were an attempt to hurt her image.
