By JNS on J-Wire…
After months of refusing to state publicly who paid for an anti-Israel United Nations official’s politically-centred visit to Australia and New Zealand, the U.N. Human Rights Office told JNS on Friday that the global body paid for the trip in November.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, has become the focus of an internal UN investigation into allegations launched by UN Watch, a watchdog that alleges that pro-Hamas lobbying groups funded the trip.
The Australian Friends of Palestine Association claimed publicly that it had “sponsored” Albanese’s visit, and Free Palestine Melbourne, the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network and Palestinian Christians in Australia stated that they “supported” the trip. All four are lobbying groups.
During the visit to Australia, Albanese participated in media and fundraising events, as well as meetings with pro-Palestinian politicians and civil society members.
A connected trip to New Zealand included what UN Watch calls a meeting “to lobby a major New Zealand sovereign wealth fund to divest from Israel-related companies.”
Read the full story on J-Wire here.
Read UN Watch’s media release on filing proceedings to expel Francesca Albanese here.
