PARIS: More than 150 European ex-diplomats and lawmakers on Wednesday urged France’s foreign minister to retract “inaccurate” comments about a UN expert on Palestinians rights who he wants to resign.
France and Germany have called for Francesca Albanese to step down over remarks in which she referred to a “common enemy of humanity” after criticizing “most of the world” and the media for enabling Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
Critics and Israel have accused the UN Special Rapporteur of referring to Israel as a “common enemy,” while Albanese has denounced this as a “manipulation” and “completely false.”
In response to a question about the comments, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on February 11 told parliament she should step down.
In an open letter sent to AFP, the former diplomats criticized what they called “the use of inaccurate and manipulated elements to discredit a holder of an independent UN mandate.”
