Following Reports of Bias and Corruption, DAVIA Calls for Dismissal of Rapporteur Reem Alsalem

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Henry Herrera

Telephone: +1-301-801-0608

Following Reports of Bias and Corruption, DAVIA Calls for Dismissal of Rapporteur Reem Alsalem

June 1, 2026 – Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, has been previously accused of unethical actions such as the gross misrepresentation of scientific facts (1), silencing survivors of child abuse (2), and other unscrupulous actions (3).

Now, UN Watch has issued a bombshell report that expands on these allegations and casts further doubt on the honesty and objectivity of Reem Alsalem.

The 104-page report, “From Watchdogs to Ideologues” (4), alleges that Alsalem denied the occurrence of a series of sexual crimes against Israeli women on October 7, 2023. On November 14, 2025, Alsalem falsely asserted that “No independent investigation found that rape took place on October 7, (5) despite an earlier UN report explicitly documenting such violence (6).

The document also reveals how Alsalem engaged in extremist rhetoric. In a 2025 tweet, for example, Alsalem resorted to extreme hyperbole by claiming that terms such as genocide, Holocaust, and forced starvation cannot capture the “sheer depravity and heinousness” of Israel’s actions, stating that these words “recoil in shame… in recognition of their unworthiness.” (7)

The UN Watch report also documents the financial support provided to Alsalem by outside entities. From 2021 to 2025, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea donated a total of $353,000 to support Alsalem’s activities. Such donations “create the appearance, if not the fact, of undue influence,” emphasizes legal scholar Gabor Rona (8).

The actions of Reem Alsalem represent a stain on the reputation and integrity of the UN Human Rights Council. The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance calls on:

The 47 member-countries of the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the severe and repeated misconduct of Reem Alsalem.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to promptly terminate the contract of Reem Alsalem.
Responsible officials should assure that all previous reports written by Reem Alsalem are removed from United Nations’ websites.

Concerned persons should express their concerns directly to High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at ohchr-InfoDesk@un.org

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — unites 233 member organizations from 43 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse policies are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/

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