Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, concluded her six-year term on June 17, facing scrutiny over controversial statements and remarks made during her tenure.
Mofokeng, a South African doctor, was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in July 2020. Her final report urged countries to adopt what she described as 'anti-racist' and 'anti-colonial' health policies, asserting that "Health cannot be realized without dignity."
However, her final presentation was met with challenges from Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. Neuer raised concerns about Mofokeng's past public statements, including an article in Teen Vogue titled "Why Sex Work Is Real Work," in which she wrote that "in some ways, aren’t we all [sex workers]?" Neuer questioned whether she stood by these remarks given widespread concerns about exploitation and trafficking in the sex industry.
A report released by UN Watch in May detailed Mofokeng's alleged anti-Israel ideology, pro-Hamas sentiment, and promotion of sex work. The report cited social media posts, including one stating, "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free," and another defending Hamas by writing, "Armed struggle against colonization is not terrorism." Mofokeng also stated, "That Hamas are not terrorists is fact." While the UN does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, many nations, including the United States and the European Union, do.
In response to the criticisms, Mofokeng stated, "And in the face of fierce, personal, targeted attacks, incitement of violence against me, escalating into domestic spaces as professional harassment and intimidation, both in real life and in online spaces, I stand here today with very few answers to the grand scale of human suffering."
Mofokeng's work received support from various organizations, including the Palestinian Delegation, the Arab Group, Planned Parenthood, and Amnesty International. A representative from Planned Parenthood commended Mofokeng for "documenting genocidal acts perpetrated in Gaza." The Amnesty International delegate added praise for Mofokeng's "considerable legacy of body of work," including calls for the decriminalization of abortion and sex work, and for recognizing "Israel’s genocide."