by AHMED ABU ARTEMA
Falsely accused of antisemitism over a doctored clip, the UN rapporteur remains under attack for demanding sanctions and accountability for Israel’s genocide in Gaza
On 11 February, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot issued a statement demanding the resignation of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967.
He claimed that Albanese described Israel as the “common enemy of humanity“.
The call came two days after a group of French MPs sent Barrot a letter denouncing Albanese and describing her remarks at the Al Jazeera Forum on 7 February as “antisemitic“.
Four other European governments quickly followed suit, with the foreign ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy also calling for Albanese to step down.
The allegations against her were later shown to be based on a manipulated video clip.
Fact-checking by France 24’s Truth or Fake programme clarified that she had not characterised Israel as alleged, but was referring to systems enabling violations in Gaza, consistent with established principles under international law, including the Genocide Convention.
In response, a group of French lawyers filed a criminal complaint against Barrot, accusing him of disseminating false information about Albanese’s remarks and amplifying a truncated clip circulated by pro-Israel groups.
Despite earlier pledges by Barrot to demand Albanese’s resignation at the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, it appeared that France had abandoned this plan, with no such mention made at Wednesday’s session.
But the problem is not just a technical error. This latest wave of “toxic” attacks on Albanese has once again demonstrated the hostility she continues to face from European governments over her relentless documentation of Israeli crimes and characterisation of them as genocide, while exposing states’ complicity in enabling it.
‘Digitally distorted’
During the Al Jazeera forum, what Albanese actually said was the following:
The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support… We who do not control large amounts of financial capital, algorithms and weapons, we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy, and freedoms, the respect of fundamental freedoms is the last peaceful avenue, the last peaceful toolbox that we have to regain our freedom.
More than 150 former foreign ministers, ambassadors and senior diplomats also signed an open letter accusing Barrot of spreading disinformation about Albanese
Amnesty International said the foreign ministries’ criticism was based on distortion: “It is reprehensible that ministers in Austria, Czechia, France, Germany and Italy have attacked Francesca Albanese based on a deliberately truncated video to misrepresent and gravely misconstrue her messages.
“The ministers that have spread disinformation must act beyond merely deleting their comments on social media – as some have done. They must publicly apologise and retract any calls for Francesca Albanese’s resignation. Their governments must also investigate how this disinformation happened with a view to preventing such situations,” the human rights NGO added.
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