UN secretary-general won’t condemn official accused of antisemitism; US said to grant visa for visit

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is once again under fire for not speaking out against Francesca Albanese, the controversial U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, who has been condemned for being antisemitic.

Albanese is traveling to the U.S. to present her latest report, “Genocide as colonial erasure,” before the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, which oversees social, humanitarian and cultural issues. 

Albanese’s report, now widely circulated among member state representatives, shows “the masks are off,” according to Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro University Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust.

“Albanese’s target is the destruction of the Jewish state, period,” Bayefsky said, claiming Albanese’s report is “a new, unhinged rant — translated, reproduced and spread across the world by the United Nations — utterly ignorant of regional and religious history.

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“[Albanese] claims the Jewish people are colonists in Israel and have been engaged in a genocidal killing spree as part of ‘a century-long project.’ It would be laughable, if her hate-mongering and incitement to violence were not so deadly.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., told Fox News Digital Albanese “failed in her role as special rapporteur for the U.N. She has no interest in the welfare of Israelis or ordinary Gazans but has instead shown to favor spreading hate. Time and again, she has succeeded in continuing to peddle dangerous antisemitic tropes and openly supporting the Hamas terrorists occupying Gaza.” 

He also had a warning to U.S. colleges, saying Albanese’s “latest reports show how deep her antisemitism runs,” adding she “should not be allowed near any educational institutions where she can spread her vicious antisemitism under the flag of the U.N.” 

On Oct. 17, Albanese retweeted a diatribe that accused the Jewish state of “blood lust,” calling it a “must-read for the ages.” 

Accompanying the article was a cartoon featuring a person in a respirator and hazmat suit bearing the Israeli flag and an American flag lapel pin with bloodied hands giving two thumbs up. Bayefsky said the image is “classic antisemitism.” 

In this image made from UNTV video, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on COVID-19 recovery Feb. 17, 2021, at U.N. headquarters in New York.  (AP)

Fox News Digital asked Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, whether the secretary-general could censure Albanese for her antisemitic commentary and whether Guterres believes Albanese is acting in accordance with the U.N. Code of Conduct. 

Haq said “on principle” Guterres does not “comment on rapporteurs” and has no authority to terminate Albanese or reduce her salary. 

Asked about her antisemitic remarks, Haq said the U.N. Chief “is firmly opposed to antisemitism, from anyone.”

Albanese’s critics say she is not abiding by the U.N. Code of Conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Councils, which states that “all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner,” and that mandate holders must “uphold the highest standards of … probity, impartiality, equity, honesty and good faith.”

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Anti-Israel protesters rally at Moore Square in Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 5, 2024. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

Pascal Sim, U.N. Human Rights Council spokesperson, was asked by Fox News Digital whether the council might censure Albanese for her conduct and antisemitism or relieve her of her position. 

Sim said “the positions of the Human Rights Council are expressed in the decisions, resolutions and presidential statements its 47 member states adopt at the end of each of its sessions.” He further explained that “as of now, I have no information about what the council may or may not do regarding any special procedures mandate holders beyond what was recently decided at the just concluded 57th session.”

Bayefsky said the failure to address Albanese’s conduct is infuriating. 

“In one more scandal, U.N. Secretary-General Guterres is bending over backwards to protect Albanese rather than her victims,” Bayefsky said.

Bayefsky said “absolutely nothing would prevent him from denouncing her antisemitic behavior, calling for her dismissal and submitting the case of her flagrant violation of U.N. codes of conduct to his own U.N. office of legal affairs for next steps.”

An anti-Israel sign at a protest near Tulane University in New Orleans.  (Ryan Zamos)

Albanese did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment about allegations of antisemitism. 

Albanese tweeted Oct. 24 that she was “disappointed” by “spurious, recycled allegations against me,” and she claimed to be “profoundly committed to human rights for all people.” 

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Destroyed cars and personal effects are still scattered around the Supernova Music Festival site, where hundreds were killed and dozens taken by Hamas terrorists near the border with Gaza Oct. 13, 2023, in Kibbutz Re’im, Israel.  (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Hillel Neuer, executive director of United Nations Watch, replied to her on X, claiming, “When we brought to the U.N. victims from Iran, China, Russia, Syria, & North Korea, you never said a word for them.”

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Asked whether Albanese’s antisemitic statements are a concern as she prepares to tour U.S. colleges, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital “the U.S. firmly concludes that [Albanese] is unfit for her role or any role in the United Nations. Our commitment to upholding human rights for all is unwavering, and we will continue to stand against antisemitism.”  

The spokesperson also described how U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council Michèle Taylor and U.S. Special Envoy on Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt have recently expressed “strong disapproval” of Albanese.

Statements posted on X by both U.S. ambassadors condemned Albanese’s antisemitism. Thomas-Greenfield wrote in part on X that, “There is no place for antisemitism from U.N. affiliated officials tasked with human rights,” while the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council, Michèle Taylor, called the U.N. official’s words when comparing Israel’s prime minister to Hitler as, “Reprehensible and antisemitic.”

Fox News Digital also asked whether the State Department intended to block Albanese’s travel or restrict her movements to the immediate vicinity around the U.N., an action it has previously taken with unfriendly foreign diplomats traveling on United Nations business. 

A State Department spokesperson said the department could not comment given that “visa records are confidential under U.S. law.”

Francesca Albanese, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, attends a forum in Tunis, Tunisia, May 11, 2024. (Mohamed Mdalla/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Bayefsky condemned the State Department’s refusal to limit Albanese’s travel, given that she “is in the business of promoting, spreading and inciting violent antisemitism. The State Department is supposed to be in the business of protecting Jewish Americans from the inflammatory hatred of an international visitor. 

“The United States is certainly under no obligation, as the U.N. host country, to facilitate her travel outside the U.N. as part of her treacherous effort to reach American campuses. If the State Department refuses to do its job and limit her visa accordingly, then they are aiding and abetting the spread of antisemitism across America.”

The Anti-Defamation League reported that Albanese’s college tour would include visits to Georgetown University, Barnard College and Princeton. She is also reportedly due to speak at John Jay College in New York City during her U.S. visit.