The UNHRC Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has been reported for breaching multiple regulations on impartiality.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to the Office of Internal Oversight Services at the UN about Francesca Albanese regarding her public social media statements. As an independent UN expert and Special Rapporteur, she is supposed to act with impartiality, integrity, truthfulness and honesty at all times. However, in particular since 7 October 2023, Albanese has displayed conduct entirely unbefitting of her role.

She posted dozens of offensive posts, screenshots of which have been presented as part of the complaint in a 70 page dossier.  Examples of her many social media posts:

• On 7 October 2023 she tweeted: “Today’s violence must be put in context. Almost six decades of hostile military rule over an entire civilian population (incomprehensibly ignored by too many official statements & media outlets) are in themselves an aggression, and the recipe for more insecurity for all.”  Here she was justifying Hamas’s horrific attack on 7 October.
• On 11 October 2023 she referred to Israel’s operation against Hamas in Gaza as a “policy of revenge”.
• On 11 October 2023 Albanese claimed that “Hamas’ crimes including rape” had not been confirmed, and that divulging information about the perpetration of rape by Hamas risks “to escalate tensions and endanger lives in a volatile context”.
• On 14 and 26 October 2023, she claimed that Israel is “carpet bombing” Palestinian civilians.
• On 21 and 27 October 2023, she claimed that Israel is not acting in self-defence and that it is committing “ethnic cleansing”.
• On 5 December 2023 Albanese spread misinformation that there were “no more functioning hospitals” and “no more medications” in Gaza.
• On 12 December 2023, she claimed that “The Israeli army is fighting everyone and everything in Gaza – including the UN”.
• On 23 December 2023 she spread the misinformation that Israel had not created any safe areas in Gaza and that it had “dropped ammunitions equal to 2 nuclear bombs including during evacuations or in “safe zones””.
• On 28 December 2023, she tweeted that “what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, especially in Gaza, is “the monstrosity of our century””.
• On 18 and 29 February 2024, she reposted misinformation that the Israeli military had opened fire against Palestinians in Gaza waiting for aid, and that Israel is “starving a population and trying to kill them when they look for means of survival”.
• On 3 March 2024, she reposted misinformation that Israel has been “intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since October 8” and called for sanctions against Israel.
• On 8 March 2024, she posted a tweet directed at Israeli women, stating “what have you done, what have you become. Dears, when you realise it, you will be haunted forever.”
• On 31 March 2024, she reposted misinformation that “Israel has created kill zones in Gaza where they kill everything that moves”.

As a UNHRC Special Rapporteur, Albanese is obliged to abide by the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-holders of the Human Rights Council, Standards of Conduct for International Civil Servants, and various other codes. She is supposed to “Uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, meaning, in particular, though not exclusively, probity, impartiality, equity, honesty and good faith.”

She should “Always seek to establish the facts, based on objective, reliable information emanating from relevant credible sources, that she has duly cross-checked to the best extent possible”.

She is supposed to “Rely on objective and dependable facts based on evidentiary standards”

She should  “Give representatives of the concerned State the opportunity of commenting on her assessment and of responding to the allegations made against this State, and annex the State’s written summary responses to their reports”.

Albanese’s conduct with respect to her public statements regarding Israel and Israelis on social media is in clear breach of the many provisions and regulations that apply to her.

Albanese has actively spread unverified information, misinformation and even complete lies regarding Israel’s operation in Gaza. She has repeatedly ignored the obligation to indicate fairly what responses were given by the concerned State (Israel)  when expressing her views, particularly in her public statements concerning allegations of human rights violations.

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI commented: “By spreading misinformation and posting and reposting highly inflammatory statements regarding Israel and its international allies, it seems that Albanese has breached her obligations to remain impartial, objective and truthful, to act in good faith, and to avoid making public pronouncements that adversely affects these principles.

She has failed to remain independent and regularly expresses her biased opinions on controversial matters regarding Israel, resulting in an overwhelming number of anti -Israel social media messages.”