US sanctions UN human rights official critical of Israel
(MENAFN) The United States has imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, in response to her outspoken condemnation of Israel's military actions in Gaza.
Announcing the decision on Wednesday via X (formerly Twitter), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Albanese of leading a “shameful” campaign to involve the International Criminal Court (ICC) in prosecuting American and Israeli officials, companies, and executives. Rubio stated that her efforts amount to “political and economic warfare” and declared that the U.S. would not tolerate such actions. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense,” he added.
Albanese, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), has frequently called Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide” and supported the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu based on a 2024 ICC warrant. She has also urged countries to impose a total arms embargo and freeze trade agreements with Israel.
In response to the sanctions, Albanese reaffirmed her stance, writing on X: “I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done.”
The Biden administration had already distanced itself from the UNHRC earlier this year, echoing former President Trump’s criticism that the body is biased and antisemitic.
Neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC, and both have rejected its arrest warrants targeting Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
This move follows earlier U.S. sanctions on four ICC judges in June, after the court authorized investigations into the conduct of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the sanctions, calling them harmful to international justice and governance.
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