Watchdog Group Accuses U.N. Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur of Taking Payments from Activist Groups
U.N. envoy Francesca Albanese speaks at a U.N. Human Rights Council press conference, July 2023. Source: U.N. Human Rights Council/YouTube.
On Thursday, the watchdog group U.N. Watch accused the Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, of “gross violations of U.N. rules and professional ethics.”
Albanese is in charge of investigating “Israel’s violations of the bases and principles of international law”
According to the legal complaint filed to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türkwith, Albanese allegedly accepted honorariums and payments from activist and advocacy groups in violation of the U.N. code of conduct.
The role of special rapporteur is a volunteer position technically independent of the United Nations.
