Francesca Albanese
Human rights activist Francesca Albanese has remained critical of the alleged double standards and hypocrisy of the United Nations(UN), which she says has failed to live up to its own norms and standards for global peace.
Italian-born human rights activist Francesca Albanese, who faces sanctions and legal challenges over her criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, has accused the United Nations of failing to uphold its own standards regarding Palestinian human rights. Speaking in Cape Town following the 23rd Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, Albanese addressed her controversial status with the UN and questioned what message the organisation is sending to younger generations
On Tuesday, Albanese, who has been in the country for more than a week, ahead of the 23rd Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, held a media briefing while in Cape Town.
According to the global body, Albanese has forfeited her status as the UN Special Rapporteur due to her public comments on the Gaza genocide, which she has been a fierce critic of.
While delivering her address at the Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday, Albanese was served court papers by a South African sheriff, with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, forced to issue a public apology to Albanese for this blunder.
Albanese has since been sanctioned by the US, after the United Nations Watch stated that Albanese's mandate as a UN Special Rapporteur ceased in April 2025.
In a letter served on Albanese on April 23, the Italian-born activist is given a cessation mandate effective from May 2025, where she is warned that her continued association with the UN as its special rapporteur will result in sanctions and legal persecution.
Hillel Neuer, a Canadian-born international lawyer and human rights activist who is the executive director of UN Watch, indicated that the UN body served Albanese with notice that her immunity has come to an end, adding that she could now be sued, sanctioned, and prosecuted if she persists in acting under the UN mandate.
"On July 9, she got sanctioned. On September 8, she got sued. On Saturday, she got served. Our legal notice to Albanese: “Your mandate shall terminate on 30 April 2025, upon the expiration of your initial term, and any continued exercise of authority beyond that date is without legal basis or effect. As of 1 May 2025, you shall hold no legal authority to act in the name of the United Nations, and you will not, and cannot claim to be, the “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories," Neuer stated.
Responding to the UN's latest attitude against her, Albanese, who hosted a press briefing at the Desmond Tutu and Leah Tutu Foundation premises in Cape Town on Tuesday, slammed the world body for its double standards.
"What does it say to the young generation? My generation grew up with this idealism towards the United Nations to uphold the UN Charter and International Law. I think that International Law has a different story because this law is a system of norms that are there to allow us and to allow me to distinguish between right and wrong and wrong and right.
“However, today, International Law is spoken by the masses against genocide and against apartheid and against Israeli crimes, and the UN is becoming more and more less straight on its back, I'm afraid, "she said.
The UN body gave her strict instructions, saying:" Any continued use of the title, platform, or privileges associated with that position would constitute a misrepresentation and may give rise to further legal and diplomatic consequences. “Please note that as of that date, you will no longer benefit from any privileges or immunities under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, or any other source of international legal protection afforded to mandate-holders acting in an official capacity."
As such, Albanese has been subjected to a series of legal proceedings in the United States and other jurisdictions, including civil or criminal liability.
She has also been denied entry or visa access to countries that recognise her as having been stripped of her UN status.
She has been accused of inciting racism and antisemitism, which she has strongly rejected.
"Your lack of official status, and may be subject to targeted sanctions for inciting racism and antisemitism—for which you were recently condemned by the governments of the United States, France, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, among others—and for providing material support to designated terrorist organisations. We trust you will govern yourself accordingly," the UN directive against her has stated.
