The Kaipher Editorial Team 
Two Christian pro-Israel organizations are taking a former United Nations official to court, marking the first time the controversial figure has faced legal action in the U.S. for her claims. They’re suing former UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for defamation, accusing her of falsely labeling them as accomplices in genocide through a “malicious and false campaign” simply for their support of Israel.
The entire case hinges on a bold legal argument: that Francesca Albanese has no diplomatic immunity. Lawyers for the groups claim her job as a UN Special Rapporteur officially ended on April 30, 2025. Yet, she allegedly sent threatening letters and published a damning report after this date, meaning she was acting without UN protection. The lawsuit points out that even though her report looked official, her appointment had “legally expired.” This echoes a warning from monitoring group UN Watch, which previously told the UN her reappointment was invalid. A lawyer for the case was blunt, stating Albanese “can and should be held liable for defamation” for using her old title to spread “lies about American religious organizations.”
This all started back in April 2025, when Albanese allegedly sent letters to dozens of organizations around the world with a stark warning: cut ties with Israel or risk being held criminally liable. In the letters sent to the Christian charities, she directly accused them of bankrolling illegal settlements, which she called a “war crime in and of itself.” The groups say they asked for proof to back up these “astonishing, false accusations” but were met with silence. Instead, she doubled down, publishing a June report that called for the blacklisting and prosecution of the organizations she named.
This lawsuit isn’t just about clearing their names; it’s about setting a major legal precedent. Eugene Kontorovich, a law professor at George Mason University advising the charities, calls it a key part of a “growing pushback against… the misuse of UN roles to avoid accountability.” If they win, the door could open for many other American organizations named in Albanese’s report to file their own lawsuits and fight back against her allegations.
This isn’t the first time Albanese has drawn fire from the U.S. government. The Justice Department under the Trump administration had already warned her that her campaign was “defamatory, dangerous, and a flagrant abuse of [her] office.” More recently, in July 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio hit her with sanctions for “virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism.” For the Christian groups, the stakes are high. They argue Albanese’s claims have put their staff and donors in danger while damaging their humanitarian efforts in Israel. The lawsuit is seeking financial damages for defamation and for interfering with their work. Albanese has yet to issue a public comment on the lawsuit.
