PRESS RELEASE – FEBRUARY 20, 2026, Paris
JURDI appealed to the Human Rights Council and sent an open letter to the Secretary United Nations General Assembly Protecting the independence of the Special Procedures
The Association of Lawyers for the Respect of International Law (JURDI) announces that it has filed a formal communication with the United Nations Human Rights Council under the framework relating to acts of intimidation and reprisal.
This referral follows the official statements made on February 11, 2026 by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, publicly calling for the resignation of Ms. Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.
The remarks targeted by these statements, quoted in truncated form, were made on February 7, 2026 during the Al Jazeera Forum 17th ʺThe Palestinian Causeʺ and are part of the exercise of the mandate entrusted to them by the Human Rights Council.
In its communication, JURDI considers that the explicit demand for the resignation of a mandate holder for remarks relating to her official functions raises an institutional question relating to the protection of the independence of the Special Procedures.
The referral requests formal review of the case and its inclusion in the Secretary-General's next annual report on acts of intimidation and reprisal.
In parallel, JURDI sent an open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, recalling the consistent jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (advisory opinions of 1989 and 1999) which establishes that mandate holders must be considered as "experts on mission" benefiting from functional immunity under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
This simultaneous approach aims to:
- preserve the institutional integrity of the United Nations system; ;
- reaffirm the principle of independence of mandate holders; ;
- prevent any normalization of state pressures that could have a deterrent effect on the performance of functions.
JURDI emphasizes that its initiative does not concern the political content of the analyses produced within the framework of the mandate, but exclusively the functional and institutional protection of international mechanisms.
The credibility of the multilateral system rests on the guarantee that mandate holders can carry out their functions without fear of direct or indirect pressure.
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