Latest Developments
Lawmakers Threatens Sanctions: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch (R-ID) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) warned that they would push for sanctions against the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) if it voted in favor of establishing an international investigative mechanism (IIM) focused on Israel. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on March 31, the lawmakers threatened that “any [UN]HRC member state or UN entity that supports an Israel-specific IIM in any form” will face sanctions like the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Palestinian Authority is pushing the council to create an IIM, a body established to investigate and collect evidence of serious human rights violations and international crimes, as an alternative to the ICC probe.
UNHRC Ignores Human Rights Abusers: The letter pointed out the UNHRC’s bias against Israel, including its permanent agenda item targeting Israel — the only permanent agenda item dedicated to scrutinizing a particular country — and an open-ended Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate Israel’s alleged violations of international law. “This one-sided focus on Israel undermines the legitimate and genuine threat posed by real human rights abusers,” the letter stated. “This includes the Hamas terrorists who continue to hold dozens of hostages like American Edan Alexander. It’s part of a concerning and insidious anti-Israel trend within the United Nations.”
Unbecoming of a Rapporteur: On the same day, Mast and several other members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to UNHRC President Jurg Lauber arguing against an additional three-year term renewal for Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur dedicated to the Palestinians. “[Albanese] has consistently aligned herself with Hamas terrorists, accused Israel of genocide, likened the government of Israel to the ‘Third Reich,’ and compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler,” the letter stated, calling her behavior “reprehensible, but most unbecoming of a UN Special Rapporteur.”
FDD Expert Response
“The Human Rights Council’s outsized focus on Israel comes at the expense of protecting vulnerable populations across the globe. And the den of dictators plays right into Hamas’s playbook by singling out Israel and disseminating imagined crimes supposedly committed by the Jewish state. The proposed sanctions should be a step on the path toward disbanding this hopelessly rotten institution.” —David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst
“The Human Rights Council is a deeply flawed and morally compromised body. It has spent years politically targeting Israel while shielding brutal authoritarian regimes and serial human rights abusers. It is no surprise that the council would double down on this bias, but it will now come at a real cost. The U.S. Congress and the Trump administration have made clear that the United Nations’ hostility toward our democratic ally, Israel, will no longer be tolerated. If UN officials have any doubt about America’s resolve, they should consult their counterparts at the ICC.” —Nick Stewart, Senior Director of Government Relations, FDD Action
FDD Background and Analysis
“U.S. Officials Chide ‘Antisemitism’ of UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese,” FDD Flash Brief
“More outrageous UN anti-Semitism: High-level official says Israel to blame for Palestinians murdering Jews,” by David May and Richard Goldberg
“Netanyahu Slams United Nations Antisemitism in General Assembly Speech,” FDD Flash Brief
“UNHRC Special Rapporteur Report Justifies Terrorism, Ignores Israeli Security Needs,” by David May
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International Organizations Israel