The US State Department’s decision to sanction UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, is deeply alarming. It reflects the official US stance against any independent effort to expose the genocide and systematic violations committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
This decision marks a dangerous shift away from the core principles of international law and human rights. It directly targets the United Nations and its mechanisms, undermining the independence of special rapporteurs, who should be protected and supported in carrying out their impartial mandates, not punished for fulfilling them or for recognising crimes as such.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions last Wednesday evening against the Special Rapporteur, citing her efforts to “prompt action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.
Euro-Med Monitor stresses that Francesca Albanese was among the few who demonstrated the moral and professional courage to call events in Gaza what they truly are: a genocide unfolding in full view of the world. She spoke openly about the complicity of major powers, led by the United States, in arming and covering up this crime, and criticised states that failed to act on the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he transited through their territory or airspace.
Albanese’s work is legitimate and fully aligned with her official mandate from the Human Rights Council, which tasks her with monitoring violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Her documentation efforts and calls for accountability lie at the heart of that mandate. Calling for accountability is not “warfare,” as Rubio claimed, but an act of upholding international law.
Furthermore, recommending sanctions or an arms embargo is consistent with the peaceful measures permitted under international law to address international crimes. It is entirely unreasonable to treat advocacy for upholding international law as a crime.
The US sanctions violate the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which grants UN officials, including special rapporteurs, immunity from legal or administrative action for acts or statements made in their official capacity.
Albanese’s reports and statements fall squarely within her official duties and mandate, making her legally protected from any retaliatory or punitive measures, including economic or political sanctions imposed in response to her official work.
As a party to the Convention, the United States is legally obligated to respect the functional immunity of special rapporteurs and refrain from taking any action against them in response to their official work.
Instead of reviewing its harmful policies regarding Israeli crimes, the US administration chose to punish those who exposed its complicity. Sanctioning Albanese is a desperate attempt to suppress the truth and a warning to anyone who dares to defend the victims of Israeli crimes.
Beyond the United States’ blatant double standards and constant use of sanctions as a political tool, this move signals explicit and official opposition to the foundations of international law, including the principle of accountability and the mechanisms for its protection and application. It amounts to a direct assault on international law and a systematic effort to undermine its framework, revealing a clear intent to subordinate the legal order to power and hegemony rather than justice.
The US decision is a clear expression of deepening official complicity in the genocide, not only through military and political support, but also by targeting anyone who seeks to expose or stop it, even through speech or legal means, as seen previously with sanctions against International Criminal Court judges who issued arrest warrants for Israeli war criminals.
Euro-Med Monitor fully supports Francesca Albanese and her principled stance based on international law and moral conscience. These sanctions should provoke widespread international condemnation and genuine solidarity, as they aim to intimidate independent voices and silence witnesses to ongoing crimes.
The United Nations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, all UN Special Rapporteurs, and the international community must act urgently to safeguard the independence of the international human rights system and prevent it from being held hostage to political blackmail by major powers.
Justice is not a crime, and speaking out about the genocide in Gaza is not a crime; silence and complicity are. The world now faces a crucial test of its commitment to values, the rule of law, and justice.
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