The UN’s Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council has “strongly condemned” the US Government’s sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio announced within the week that Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he claimed were illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.
The committee asserted that the sanctions are not against only one independent human rights expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.
Rather, they reflect the “continued assault” of the current US administration on the entire UN system and its core values of human rights, justice, accountability and the rule of law.
The committee pointed out that Albanese has only been discharging her mandate given by the Human Rights Council, which specifically requests the Special Rapporteur to investigate Israel’s violations.
In its statement, the committee applauded the courage of Francesca Albanese “in speaking truth to power and stand in solidarity with her.”
Albanese has long criticised Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing at least 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Spokesman was among those to criticise the US sanctions on Albanese.
While highlighting that Albanese reports to the UN Human Rights Council rather than the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric called the decision “a dangerous precedent.”
“The use of unilateral sanctions against special rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable.”
Stephane Dujarric
UN Human Rights Council Ambassador, Jurg Lauber also lamented the move against Albanese.
He urged all UN member states to fully cooperate with the Special Rapporteurs and mandate holders of the council and to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them.
Speaking to a news agency, Albanese said that she would not be cowed into silence by the US move against her.
She added that the US’s tactics reminded her of “mafia intimidation techniques” before suggesting that “sanctions will only work if people are scared and stop engaging.”
“I want to remind everyone [that] the reason why these sanctions are being imposed is the pursuit of justice.
“Of course, I’ve been critical of Israel. It has been committing genocide and crimes against humanity, and war crimes.”
Francesca Albanese
According to local health officials, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has destroyed most of the territory and killed more than 57,575 Palestinians over the past 21 months.
Hamas Calls Sanctions “Blatant Bias”
Hamas asserted in a post on Telegram that the United States’ imposition of sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese, is a “blatant expression of the US administration’s blatant bias toward Zionist war crimes.”
“The punitive measures taken by the United States against institutions and individuals performing their professional and moral role in the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, most recently Albanese, undermine the foundations of international and humanitarian law and encourage the occupation’s war criminal leaders to continue their brutal crimes.”
Hamas
The group called on the US administration to reverse its policies, “which position it as a de facto [partner] in the campaigns to kill children and women and destroy civilian life in the Gaza Strip.”
A statement from the European Union on the US’s decision to slap sanctions on Albanese stressed strong supports for the United Nations human rights system. “We deeply regret the decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese,” bloc Spokesman, Anouar El Anouni said.
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