UN Slams US Sanctions on Gaza Genocide Rapporteur
UN Expert Calls US Sanctions “Unprecedented” Amid Gaza Genocide Claims
BOGOTA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has strongly criticized recent U.S. sanctions against her, calling them “unprecedented” and a serious threat to human rights advocacy.
Speaking during an international summit in Colombia hosted by President Gustavo Petro, Albanese said the sanctions violate international law and set a dangerous precedent.
“It’s a very serious measure. It’s unprecedented. And I take it very seriously,” said Albanese, addressing an audience in Bogota. She was in the capital to participate in talks aimed at resolving the Gaza conflict.
The sanctions were announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 9, who accused Albanese of pushing for International Criminal Court (ICC) action against American and Israeli officials. Rubio called her work “biased and malicious.”
Albanese, an Italian legal scholar and human rights expert, has accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza — a claim that has sparked backlash from Israeli officials and some companies named in her latest UN report.
In a recent report, Albanese named several firms — many of them American — that she said have financially benefited from Israel’s occupation and military actions, describing the situation as one of “illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide.”
The U.S. government has already imposed sanctions on four ICC judges for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, barring them from entering the country. Albanese warned the sanctions were “a warning to anyone who dares to defend international law and human rights, justice and freedom.”
On Thursday, the United Nations called on the U.S. to reverse the sanctions. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s spokesperson said the move sets “a dangerous precedent.” The European Union also expressed support for Albanese and condemned the U.S. action, saying it “strongly supports the United Nations human rights system.”
Albanese began her mandate in 2022. UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, though they do not speak on behalf of the UN itself.
The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,219 people in Israel and took hostages. Since then, more than 58,479 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry — figures the UN considers credible.
Violence has also intensified in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has been under occupation since 1967.
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