By Ilayda Cakirtekin
ISTANBUL (AA)—The secretary general of Amnesty International on Thursday voiced support for the mandate and the vital work of the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for her resignation.
"Amnesty International fully supports the mandate and vital work of the UN Special Procedures, including Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Their independence is absolute and protected from interference from states and integral to an effective execution of their mandates," Agnes Callamard wrote on US social media company X.
Callamard noted that any attempts to misconstrue, discredit, or place political pressure on independent mandate holders "risk undermining the integrity of the crucial international human rights mechanisms at a time when it is under attack."
"Amnesty reaffirms its support for the work of the Special Rapporteur on upholding international law, including by denouncing the system that has enabled the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including the financial capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it," she added.
Callamard recalled that Amnesty itself also denounced the "political economy of repression behind the genocide, the crime against humanity of apartheid and unlawful occupation.
"The organization has called on third parties to refrain from providing any assistance to Israel’s illegal conduct and for states to live up to their legal obligations under international law including by cooperating to bring Israel’s international crimes to an end."
Callamard's statement came after Barrot condemned Albanese's remarks against Israel during a forum in Doha, Qatar, as "outrageous and reprehensible," calling for her resignation.
"Francesca Albanese presents herself as an independent United Nations expert. She is neither an expert nor independent; she is a political activist spreading hateful rhetoric, which ultimately harms the Palestinian cause she claims to defend," Barrot alleged in his speech at the parliament on Wednesday.
"In reality, these provocations call for only one response: her resignation. And it is in these terms, and with this firmness, Madam Deputy, that France will speak on February 23 at the upcoming session of the United Nations Human Rights Council," Barrot added.