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Watchdog org calls for sanctions against UN appointee accused of antisemitism
EXCLUSIVE — A United Nations watchdog organization is calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take action against an appointee of the international body whose second term is set to begin on May 1.
In a letter to Rubio, U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer argues that the U.S. government should sanction and deny entry and visas to Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Additionally, he called for Albanese to be stripped of diplomatic immunity.
Neuer describes Albanese in his letter as being «pro-Hamas» and says her reappointment was done «illegally.»
UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 5, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS )
UN OFFICIAL REAPPOINTED DESPITE ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM
«Her purported reappointment this month was illegally carried out in violation of express U.N. rules requiring investigation of her misconduct, rendering her term renewal null and void,» Neuer wrote.
When speaking with Fox News Digital, Neuer pointed to the DOJ’s recent decision to allow lawsuits against the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) as evidence that Rubio has the ability to act against Albanese.
Neuer argued that the U.S. should act using a similar principle to the one used in cases against anti-Israel agitators, such as Mahmoud Khalil. He also wrote that «Albanese’s abuse of a global platform to spread hatred and legitimize terrorism demands an unequivocal response.»
«Legally, it’s very clear to me — I used to be an attorney in Manhattan for one of the major law firms in the United States — it’s clear to be in any proper court of law this kind of procedural malpractice fraud would result in her not being a U.N. appointee,» Neuer told Fox News Digital.
UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, attends Maghreb-Mashreq Social Forum in Tunis, Tunisia on May 11, 2024. (Mohamed Mdalla/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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When asked about U.N. Watch’s letter, Pascal Sim, Spokesperson, UN Human Rights Council, told Fox News Digital that, «Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (a country mandate), was appointed by the Human Rights Council on 1 April 2022, which was the last day of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council. She took up her function on 1 May 2022. Therefore, according to the «no longer than six years» principle, she can serve as Special Rapporteur until 30 April 2028.»
Sim also asserted that «at no time has the Human Rights Council, in any formal or informal way, been called to ‘reappoint’ or ‘renew’ any Special Procedures mandate-holder. Whenever the Human Rights Council nominates any Special Procedures mandate-holder, it does so with the knowledge that the mandate-holder may serve up to six years in this function.»
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Pierre Albouy)
Earlier this month, when the U.N. was set to consider Albanese’s reappointment, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Chair Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., urged the U.N. not to allow it to go through.
Mast argued in a letter to U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) President Jürg Lauber that Albanese «unapologetically» used her role in the international body to «attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes, while serving as a Hamas apologist.»
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In the past, multiple countries, including the U.S., have condemned Albanese for her remarks. In fact, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has compiled a list of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements made by Albanese throughout the years.
In October 2024, while serving as a U.N. appointee, she shared a post on X, calling it a «must-read for the ages.» In the post, journalist Chris Hedges asserted that the «Israel lobby has bought and paid for Congress and the two ruling parties,» making campaign donations by Zionists «a formidable barrier to peace.»
Albanese also compared Israel’s war in Gaza to the Holocaust and, in August 2024, called the Gaza Strip a «concentration camp of the 21st century.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Francesca Albanese and the State Department for comment on this report but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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Portland mayor demands ICE leave city after federal agents use tear gas on protesters ‘Sickening decisions’
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The mayor of Portland, Oregon, is calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to leave his city after federal agents deployed tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators, including young children, outside an ICE facility over the weekend.
Mayor Keith Wilson characterized the protests on Saturday as peaceful, as federal agents reportedly used tear gas, pepper balls, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the anti-ICE demonstrators.
Wilson urged ICE agents to resign and for the agency to leave Portland, denouncing their «use of violence» and the «trampling of the Constitution.»
«Today, federal forces deployed heavy waves of chemical munitions, impacting a peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces,» he said in a statement on Saturday.
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Mayor Keith Wilson characterized the protests in his city as peaceful, as he called for ICE to leave. (Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
«To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave. Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame. To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children. Ask yourselves why you continue to work for an agency responsible for murders on American streets. No one is forcing you to lie to yourself, even as your bosses continue to lie to the American people,» the mayor continued.
The mayor added that this nation «will never accept a federal presence where agents wield deadly force against the very people they are sworn to serve.»
«I share the impatience with those who demand we use every legal tool at our disposal to push back against this inexcusable, unconscionable, and unacceptable violence against our community,» Wilson said. «I share the need to act. Actions that can withstand the scrutiny of the justice system take time – and we cannot afford to lose this fight.»
CBP/BORDER PATROL AGENTS PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE AFTER DEADLY CONFRONTATION WITH ALEX PRETTI
Federal agents deployed tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators, including young children, outside an ICE facility in Portland. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Portland officials are working to operationalize an ordinance, which went into effect last month, that imposes a fee on detention facilities that use chemical agents, the mayor said.
«As we prepare to put that law into action, we are also documenting today’s events and preserving evidence. The federal government must, and will, be held accountable,» he wrote.
«Portland will continue to stand firmly with our immigrant neighbors, who deserve safety, dignity, and the full protection of the communities they help build,» he continued. «We are also proud of the Portlanders who showed up today in peaceful solidarity, demonstrating the strength and clarity of those shared values in the face of federal overreach.»
This comes amid national unrest and bipartisan scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics following two killings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents last month in Minneapolis.
The Trump administration has faced bipartisan scrutiny over its immigration enforcement tactics following two killings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, and Alex Pretti was fatally shot on Jan. 24 by Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez while he was recording immigration enforcement operations in the same city.
Pretti, an ICU nurse, appeared to be attempting to assist a woman agents had knocked down when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten, according to video and witness accounts. An agent was later seen pulling Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before other agents fired several shots, killing him.
portland,oregon,us,donald trump,homeland security,kristi noem,us protests
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“As Nasty As They Wanna Be”: qué hay detrás del álbum más censurado en la historia del rap
En 1990, la industria musical de Estados Unidos vivió un hecho inédito: por primera vez, un álbum fue declarado “legalmente obsceno”. El protagonista de este episodio fue 2 Live Crew, un grupo de rap originario de Miami, cuyo tercer disco, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, no solo desató controversia por su contenido, sino que también reconfiguró los límites entre arte, moral y legalidad.
Formado en la década de los 80, 2 Live Crew se caracterizaba por sus letras explícitas, ritmos acelerados y una actitud desafiante que rompía con los códigos de la época. El grupo, liderado por Luther Campbell (conocido como Luke Skyywalker), ya era un referente del subgénero Miami bass, pero no fue hasta el lanzamiento de As Nasty As They Wanna Be, el 7 de febrero de 1989, que se convirtieron en un fenómeno nacional.
El disco, repleto de referencias sexuales y lenguaje explícito, fue el mayor éxito comercial de la banda y obtuvo la certificación de platino de la Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
La polémica que rodeó el álbum terminó de definir su lugar en la historia. “Con letras explícitas, ritmos provocadores y una actitud desfachatada, 2 Live Crew se metió directo en el ojo de la tormenta cultural”, señaló Indie Hoy.
La llegada al mercado de As Nasty As They Wanna Be coincidió con una creciente preocupación social e institucional por el contenido de la música popular, en especial el rap, que para muchos sectores conservadores representaba una amenaza para los valores tradicionales.
La controversia alcanzó su punto máximo en 1990, cuando un tribunal del distrito de Florida declaró a As Nasty As They Wanna Be como “legalmente obsceno”, un fallo sin precedentes en la historia de la música estadounidense. El disco, que ya incluía el clásico sello de advertencia parental, pasó a ser el primer álbum en recibir tal calificación jurídica.
Según el fallo, el contenido de las canciones era tan explícito que excedía los límites de la libertad artística y podía ser considerado un delito.
Dos días después de la sentencia, un vendedor de discos de Florida fue arrestado por vender una copia del álbum a un policía encubierto. “La detención convirtió a 2 Live Crew en leyenda. No por romper récords de ventas, sino por entrar a los libros de historia como los primeros músicos en ser procesados por el contenido lírico de su obra”, destacó Indie Hoy.
El impacto del proceso judicial fue inmediato. Figuras públicas, como David Bowie, manifestaron su apoyo a la libertad de expresión artística. Incluso académicos de renombre, como Henry Louis Gates Jr., testificaron a favor del grupo durante el juicio.
Este episodio no solo consolidó la fama de 2 Live Crew, sino que también abrió un debate sobre el papel del Estado frente a las expresiones culturales consideradas ofensivas o disruptivas.
El juicio contra 2 Live Crew no solo marcó un antes y un después en la industria del rap, sino que también sentó un precedente legal de alcance duradero. El disco, que representó el final de la relación del grupo con el sello Skyywalker Records —renombrado luego como Luke Records tras una demanda de George Lucas por el uso del nombre—, pasó a ser un símbolo de la lucha por la libertad artística en Estados Unidos.
La controversia en torno a As Nasty As They Wanna Be se inscribió en una larga tradición de enfrentamientos entre músicos y el sistema judicial. Casos como el arresto de Jim Morrison en 1969 en Miami por “exposición indecente”, el hostigamiento sufrido por Billie Holiday por interpretar “Strange Fruit” o la persecución política contra Fela Kuti en Nigeria por sus letras contestatarias muestran que el arte musical ha sido históricamente terreno de disputa y resistencia.
A pesar de la censura inicial y los problemas legales, el álbum de 2 Live Crew resistió el paso del tiempo como un recordatorio de los riesgos y desafíos que implica empujar los límites del discurso público. “Más allá del debate sobre el tono de sus letras, lo cierto es que su caso marcó un antes y un después en la relación entre música y legalidad”, concluyó Indie Hoy.
As Nasty As They Wanna Be no solo fue un éxito comercial, sino que se transformó en un punto de inflexión en la discusión sobre los límites de la libertad artística y la intervención estatal.
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