DaysofPal – More than 150 prominent political and diplomatic figures have accused French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot of “misrepresentation” over his criticism of UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese and his call for her resignation.
Lawmakers from the French presidential camp alleged that the independent UN expert had described “Israel as a common enemy of humanity.” Albanese firmly denied the claim, condemning what she called “false accusations” and a distortion of her remarks.
In an open letter published Wednesday, 150 prominent figures, most of them former Dutch diplomats, along with former ministers from Greece, Argentina, and Denmark, denounced “the use of inaccurate and distorted statements to discredit an independent UN mandate holder.”
The signatories wrote that Albanese had “reaffirmed a fundamental principle of international law: accountability for serious violations of international law is a legal obligation, not a political option, and those responsible must be prosecuted.”
Barrot and several Western governments, including Germany and Italy, had described Albanese’s remarks as “outrageous,” relying on partial quotations, and called for her resignation.
During a video intervention at the Al Jazeera Forum, Albanese referred to “the system that prevents Israel’s accountability” as “the common enemy of humanity.” Her statement was later altered to read, “Israel is the common enemy of humanity.” A review of her full intervention during the seminar showed that the version circulated by a right-wing organization had been edited and taken out of context.
In an interview with France 24 last Wednesday, Albanese said, “I never, never, never said that Israel is the common enemy of humanity.” She added, “I spoke about Israel’s crimes, about apartheid, and about genocide, and I condemned the system that does not allow Israel to be brought to justice or its crimes to stop, describing that system as a common enemy.”
Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. They serve in an independent capacity and do not represent the United Nations.
Paris has not imposed sanctions on Albanese, though its position aligns with that of the United States and Israel, both of which oppose her mandate.
In New York on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric declined to retract comments made the previous week, stating that he did not agree with “many of the statements” by the special rapporteur. “We will not use the language that she uses,” Dujarric said, stressing that her role is independent and does not represent the United Nations.
Asked to specify which statements the Secretary-General disagreed with, Dujarric declined. “No, I cannot specify that. It is not for the Secretary-General to comment on the statements of special rapporteurs. They have a very specific and independent role, and it is their duty to perform it. It is not our role to endorse or not endorse what they say.”
In June, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Albanese similar to those typically directed at entities linked to terrorism. The measures followed her criticism of Israel and her warning letters to several US companies, including Lockheed Martin, informing them that she would name them in a report on the situation in Palestine on the grounds that they were complicit in genocide.
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