GENEVA: An independent United Nations body on Tuesday condemned what it described as vicious attacks based on disinformation by several European ministers against the organization’s special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese.
In the past week several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, called for Albanese’s resignation over her alleged criticism of Israel. Albanese, an Italian lawyer, denies making the remarks.
On Friday, the Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Petr Macinka quoted Albanese on X as having called Israel a “common enemy of humanity,” and he also called for her resignation.
A transcript of Albanese’s remarks made in Doha on February 7 seen by Reuters did not characterise Israel in this way, although she has consistently criticized the country in the past over the Gaza conflict.
The UN Coordination Committee — a body of six independent experts which coordinates and facilitates the work of Special Rapporteurs — accused European ministers of relying on “manufactured facts.”
“Instead of demanding Ms Albanese’s resignation for performing her mandate...these government representatives should join forces to hold accountable, including before the International Criminal Court, leaders and officials accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza,” the Committee said.
It said the pressure exerted on Albanese was part of an increasing trend of politically motivated and malicious attacks against independent human rights experts, UN officials and judges of international courts.
US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on Albanese after she wrote letters to US companies accusing them of contributing to gross human rights violations by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.
UN experts are commissioned by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises but are independent of the organization itself.
There is no precedent for removing a special rapporteur during their term, although diplomats said that states on the 47-member council could in theory propose a motion to do so.
However, they said strong support for Palestinian rights within the body means that such a motion was unlikely to pass.
Independent UN body condemns ‘vicious attacks’ on UN expert on Palestinian rights
https://arab.news/8p4qb
Independent UN body condemns ‘vicious attacks’ on UN expert on Palestinian rights
- The UN Coordination Committee accused European ministers of relying on “manufactured facts“
- UN experts are commissioned to monitor and document specific human rights crises
MSF will keep operating in Gaza ‘as long as we can’: mission head
- The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible
AMMAN:The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.
In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.
MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a “pretext” to obstruct aid.
“For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can,” Filipe Ribeiro told AFP in Amman, but said operations were already facing challenges.
“Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank,” he said.
Ribeiro added that MSF’s ability to bring medical supplies into Gaza had also been impacted.
“They’re not allowed for now, but we have some stocks in our pharmacies that will allow us to keep running operations for time being,” he said.
“We do have teams in Gaza that are still working, both national and international, and we have stocks.”
In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.
It had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity has repeatedly and vehemently denied.
MSF says it did not provide the names of its Palestinian staff because Israeli authorities offered no assurances regarding their safety.
Ribeiro warned of the massive impact the termination of MSF’s operations would have for health care in war-shattered Gaza.
“MSF is one of the biggest actors when it comes to the health provision in Gaza and the West Bank, and if we are obliged to leave, then we will create a huge void in Gaza,” he said.
The charity says it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in the territory and operates around 20 health centers.
In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations, treated more than 100,000 trauma cases and assisted more than 10,000 infant deliveries.
