Dozens of peers have urged the government to press for the resignation of the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories following remarks she made that appeared to refer to Israel as a “common enemy of humanity”.
More than 40 members of the House of Lords have written to the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling on her to demand Francesca Albanese is removed from her post, with the Board of Deputies backing such action too.
France and Germany are already seeking Albanese’s resignation following a meeting in Doha at which the Italian diplomat accused international governments of enabling a “genocide” and referred to a “common enemy of humanity”.
Speaking at an event on Saturday organised by the Al Jazeera network, Albanese said: "The fact [is] that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support.
She continued: "We who do not control large amounts of financial capitals, algorithms and weapons, we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy.”
Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, described Albanese’s remarks as “outrageous and irresponsible”, criticising the rapporteur for apparently directing her comments not at the Israeli government but at the country and its people. He is expected to call for the rapporteur to stand down at the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council later this month.
Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul, echoed this call, saying: "I respect the UN system of independent rapporteurs. However, Ms Albanese has made numerous inappropriate remarks in the past. I condemn her recent statements about Israel. She is untenable in her position.”
Now, their UK counterpart has been urged to follow suit by peers from across the political spectrum.
In their letter to Cooper, they argued that Albanese's latest remarks call into question her ability to “uphold even the most basic standards of neutrality”.
The letter, which also takes in previous comments made by the controversial official, states: “Special Rapporteurs must uphold strict impartiality. Ms Albanese’s record shows repeated breaches of these standards including Holocaust comparisons, describing Gaza as a concentration camp, promoting claims of disproportionate Jewish influence and calling for Israel’s removal from the UN.”
Signatories, which include the government’s former extremism tsar Lord Walney and former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Pickles, also accused Albanese of downplaying the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel and framing the country’s counterterrorism operations as “aggression”.
The letter added: “The United Kingdom has always defended the principles of impartiality and integrity in international institutions. Continued support for a mandate holder whose conduct raises credible concerns of bias risks weakening these principles at a critical moment.
“The UK must send the message that inflammatory rhetoric has no place within the United Nations.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews expressed similar concerns.
Adrian Cohen, the Board’s vice-president, said: “We welcome the demands of the French and German foreign ministers for the resignation of Francesca Albanese, and call on the UK government to join them.
“Albanese's comments have been branded as antisemitic by multiple governments over several years. She has shown nothing but disdain for her duty to impartiality, has undermined the credibility of the UN, and done nothing to advance the cause of peace. The UK government must not tolerate antisemitism under a UN banner, and should act now with its European partners to protect the integrity of the UN system.”
Albanese has faced criticism since her appointment in 2022, including accusations of anti-Israel activism and a lack of impartiality in the role.
The United States imposed sanctions on her over what the Trump administration described as “unabashed antisemitism”.
A UN human rights spokeswoman said today that she was “concerned” about criticism of Albanese.
"We are very worried. We are concerned that UN officials, independent experts and judicial officials, are increasingly subjected to personal attacks, threats and misinformation that distracts from the serious human rights issues," Marta Hurtado told a press briefing when asked about the criticism.
Albanese, whose term expires in 2028, has denied allegations of antisemitism and rejected accusations that she was describing Israel as that “common enemy”.
Speaking to France 24, she dismissed the latest accusations levelled against her as a "manipulation" of her words.
"I have never, ever said 'Israel is the common enemy of humanity,’” she said, adding that her remarks were about global power structures rather than an attack on a specific nation.
In a post online defending her remarks, Albanese said: “The common enemy of humanity is the system that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial capital that fund it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it.”
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