The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has formally called for the immediate removal of United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese from her position after she described the State of Israel as a “common enemy of humanity" during remarks delivered at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha.
In a sharply-worded letter addressed to the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Shannon Seban, CAM’s Director of European Affairs, condemned the statement as an unprecedented abuse of authority and a direct violation of the neutrality required of UN mandate holders.
“To declare the world’s only Jewish state a ‘common enemy of humanity’ is not human rights advocacy," Seban wrote. “It is the language of collective demonization, and it echoes some of the darkest chapters in modern history."
Seban also warned that such rhetoric from within the United Nations does not exist in a vacuum, stressing, “When a Special Rapporteur abandons objectivity and adopts the vocabulary of ideological warfare, the damage extends far beyond diplomatic discourse. It undermines the credibility of the Human Rights Council itself and fuels hostility toward Jewish communities worldwide."
Albanese’s remarks, delivered alongside figures openly hostile to Israel, are not, CAM argues, an isolated lapse in judgment but part of a sustained pattern of inflammatory conduct.
Seban’s letter details what she describes as repeated instances in which Albanese has used legally charged accusations absent judicial determination, promoted narratives that single out Israel for exceptional condemnation, and invoked tropes that have drawn prior international rebuke.
“The mandate of a Special Rapporteur is grounded in impartiality, independence, and professional integrity," Seban wrote. “Those principles are not optional. When they are discarded in favor of political activism, the mandate becomes unrecognizable."
CAM further stressed that branding Israel as an enemy of humanity crosses a moral and historical red line. “The collective portrayal of Jews - now expressed through the Jewish state - as a global threat has historically preceded discrimination, exclusion, and violence," Seban stated. “The United Nations must not lend its authority to rhetoric that so closely mirrors that legacy."
The organization is demanding that the UN Human Rights Council initiate proceedings to revoke Albanese’s mandate and conduct a formal review of her public conduct. CAM described the moment as a test of institutional integrity.
“This is a defining choice for the United Nations," Seban concluded. “It can reaffirm its commitment to neutrality and reject the demonization of a Member State, or it can signal that inflammatory rhetoric targeting the Jewish state is permissible under the banner of human rights. Silence, in this case, is complicity."