UN Watch Accuses Francesca Albanese of Financial Improprieties and Ethical Violations

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UN Watch has accused Francesca Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, of serious ethical breaches, including accepting payments from activist groups and promoting antisemitism. The NGO's complaint, filed with UN Secretary General António Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, alleges gross violations of UN rules and professional ethics.

 

The complaint centers on accusations that Albanese accepted honorariums and payments from advocacy groups, which is against the UN code of conduct. As a special rapporteur, Albanese holds a volunteer position, which should remain independent of any external financial influences. The role's expenses are supposed to be covered by a designated UN budget, and receiving payments from governmental or non-governmental sources for related activities is prohibited.

 

UN Watch's complaint includes specific instances of alleged financial improprieties. One example involves communications where a volunteer assistant of Albanese requested that an honorarium offered for her participation in an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University be directed to a research institute supporting her office's work. This request was later denied by another individual, who claimed the request was misattributed to Albanese.

 

The allegations extend to a sponsored trip to Australia in November 2023, reportedly funded by a Palestinian lobby group. This trip, which allegedly cost over $20,000, included media and fundraising events and meetings with pro-Palestinian politicians and civil society members. The Australian Friends of Palestine Association, along with other organizations, publicly claimed they supported Albanese's visit. A connected trip to New Zealand involved efforts to lobby a sovereign wealth fund to divest from Israel-related companies.

 

UN Watch asserts that these actions not only breach the financial conduct rules but also fail to appear in mandated UN disclosure forms, suggesting that the UN did not cover these travel costs. The complaint demands an investigation into these alleged violations, seeking transparency and accountability from the UN regarding the funding sources for Albanese’s travel and detailed records of her meetings.

 

Albanese has previously faced criticism for comments perceived as antisemitic and for justifying terrorism against Israel. Her recent remarks downplaying Hamas's motivations behind the Oct. 7 massacre were condemned by both the French and German governments as scandalous and appalling.

 

UN Watch calls for a thorough investigation, emphasizing that Albanese's support for terrorism and antisemitism, combined with these financial improprieties, severely tarnishes the UN's reputation. The NGO urges the UN to demonstrate its commitment to transparency and integrity by addressing the grave concerns outlined in the complaint.

 

Credit: JNS 2024-06-01

 

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

UN Watch -- not exactly a neutral / impartial player when it comes to Middle East issues:

UN Watch – Bias and Credibility

"UN Watch was founded by Morris Berthold Abram, civil rights activist and former U.S. Honorary President of the American Jewish Committee, focusing on “monitoring the continuing discriminatory treatment of Israel in the UN system and attitudes toward Jews in the world body as well as those matters which concern American interests.“

...

According to Sourcewatch, the UN Watch lobby is for the removal of UN personnel who are considered critical of Israel: “US calls for resignation of UN’s Richard Falk Special rapporteur for Palestinian territories said NGO UN Watch should be investigated to ensure it’s not controlled by Israel”

 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/un-watch/

 

 

"Agence France-Presse has described UN Watch both as "a lobby group with strong ties to Israel"^[6] and as a group which "champion[s] human rights worldwide".

...

Primarily, UN Watch denounces what it views as anti-Israel sentiment at the UN and UN-sponsored events.

...

In 2001, Harris announced that UN Watch had become a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Jewish Committee. According to a press release at the time, “UN Watch was established with the generous assistance of Edgar Bronfman, President of the World Jewish Congress. Eighteen months ago, the American Jewish Committee and the World Jewish Congress reached an agreement, approved by the international board of UN Watch, to transfer full control of the organization to AJC, an agreement that went into effect on January 1, 2001.”

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Watch

 

 

"From 1993 to 2000, United Nations Watch was affiliated with the World Jewish Congress, and then in 2001 with the American Jewish Committee. As of 2013, United Nations Watch was no longer affiliated with any organization, and is fully independent."

 

https://unwatch.org/about-us/mission-history/

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

UN Watch -- not exactly a neutral / impartial player when it comes to Middle East issues:

UN Watch – Bias and Credibility

"UN Watch was founded by Morris Berthold Abram, civil rights activist and former U.S. Honorary President of the American Jewish Committee, focusing on “monitoring the continuing discriminatory treatment of Israel in the UN system and attitudes toward Jews in the world body as well as those matters which concern American interests.“

...

According to Sourcewatch, the UN Watch lobby is for the removal of UN personnel who are considered critical of Israel: “US calls for resignation of UN’s Richard Falk Special rapporteur for Palestinian territories said NGO UN Watch should be investigated to ensure it’s not controlled by Israel”

 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/un-watch/

 

 

"Agence France-Presse has described UN Watch both as "a lobby group with strong ties to Israel"^[6] and as a group which "champion[s] human rights worldwide".

...

Primarily, UN Watch denounces what it views as anti-Israel sentiment at the UN and UN-sponsored events.

...

In 2001, Harris announced that UN Watch had become a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Jewish Committee. According to a press release at the time, “UN Watch was established with the generous assistance of Edgar Bronfman, President of the World Jewish Congress. Eighteen months ago, the American Jewish Committee and the World Jewish Congress reached an agreement, approved by the international board of UN Watch, to transfer full control of the organization to AJC, an agreement that went into effect on January 1, 2001.”

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Watch

 

 

"From 1993 to 2000, United Nations Watch was affiliated with the World Jewish Congress, and then in 2001 with the American Jewish Committee. As of 2013, United Nations Watch was no longer affiliated with any organization, and is fully independent."

 

https://unwatch.org/about-us/mission-history/

 

 

 

So you're more interested in attacking a source from the article than looking at the serious accusations that were levied at her and would lay her credibility to zero. Interesting.

 

Of course UN Watch is bias, its set up to be that way....Jeez. It is however a credible source even more so than outlets such as the Guardian . Are you insinuating Jews are not to be trusted, why is that? Seems to be a common theme with some posters.

 

While it is obviously not a source you want to have around, others disagree:, here is just one of many distinguished officials and ex officials who admire its work.

 

 Currently the allegations are Francesca Albanese who happens to be a volunteer and sits as the UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, is accused of serious ethical breaches, including accepting payments from activist groups and promoting antisemitism. An investigation has been called for. 

 

Its not like she has not got form or are you denying the reports on the UN Watch website including Germany and France?

 

Why Germany & France Condemned UN’s Francesca Albanese for ‘Disgraceful’ Antisemitism

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

The official allegations and complaints has now been sent to the UN for investigation.

https://unwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Complaint-Against-Francesca-Albanese-3-june-2024.pdf

 

UN’s Francesca Albanese Accused of Financial Misconduct by Human Rights Watchdog

UN Watch’s complaint alleges that Albanese violated the UN code of conduct by illegally requesting payments for work done in her official capacity. The watchdog group argues that Albanese circumvented the prohibition on accepting remuneration by directing honorariums to be paid to her research assistant.

Correspondence cited in the complaint shows Albanese’s assistant, Sara Troian, requesting payment for a lecture on behalf of Albanese.

“Francesca Albanese’s unethical financial practices are a gross violation of UN rules. The United Nations should take immediate action to investigate these allegations and hold her accountable,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch.

https://unwatch.org/uns-francesca-albanese-accused-of-financial-misconduct-by-human-rights-watchdog/

 

Some of the evidence contained in this X thread.

Dear @AntonioGuterres: Acting under Article 3 of the United Nations Code of Conduct, we today filed a Complaint over financial misconduct by Francesca Albanese. We demand that you disclose all illegal payments she took since 2022, and all her expenses: 

 

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

UN investigative unit probing allegations against anti-Israel official

The investigative unit of the United Nations opened a case probing whether pro-Hamas lobbying groups funded Francesca Albanese’s trips in 2023 to Australia and New Zealand.

The U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services told Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, on June 26 that it referred his allegations against the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinians to Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, whose office oversees the activities U.N. special rapporteurs.

https://www.jns.org/un-investigative-unit-probing-allegations-against-anti-israel-official/

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2024 at 4:00 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

UN Watch -- not exactly a neutral / impartial player when it comes to Middle East issues:

Incredible bias. 😟

detraction from the continued atrocities that she is reporting.

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2024 at 4:00 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

UN Watch was founded by Morris Berthold Abram, civil rights activist and former U.S. Honorary President of the American Jewish Committee, focusing on “monitoring the continuing discriminatory treatment of Israel in the UN system and attitudes toward Jews in the world body as well as those matters which concern American interests.“

Thanks, initially I thought UN Watch was part of the UN

[Bkk Brian]

19 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Thanks, initially I thought UN Watch was part of the UN

Just shows how little you know then. The UN is currently doing the investigation though. How funny is that?

[CallumWK]

13 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Just shows how little you know then. The UN is currently doing the investigation though. How funny is that?

 

You mean as in the UN investigating the UN?

Shows again how naive you are.

[Bkk Brian]

6 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

You mean as in the UN investigating the UN?

Shows again how naive you are.

Actually Francesca Albanese does not work for the UN she is a rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, a volunteer position.

 

But yes its not ideal that the UN is conducting this but do you have any other suggestions?