US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza

The State Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, follows an unsuccessful US pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post.

The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it was issuing sanctions against an independent investigator looking into human rights abuses in Palestinian territories. It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington this week to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. The sanctions were imposed on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza. It remains unclear what the practical consequences of the sanctions are and whether Albanese will be able to travel to the US. Albanese is an Italian human rights lawyer who has been vocal about what she describes as the “genocide” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Both Israel and the US have denied this accusation. Outside experts, such as Albanese, do not represent the United Nations and have no formal authority. However, they report to the council as a means of monitoring countries’ human rights records. In recent weeks, Albanese has urged other countries to impose sanctions on Israel in order to stop the war in Gaza.  She has also been a strong supporter of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials. She most recently issued a report naming several large US companies as among those aiding what she described as Israeli’s occupation and war on Gaza. It focused on organisations which provided weapons to the Israeli military as well as manufacturers of equipment that has bulldozed Palestinian homes and properties. Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the decision by the US government “is actually all about silencing a UN expert for doing her job – speaking truth about Israeli violations against Palestinians and calling on governments and corporations not to be complicit.” “UN and ICC member countries should strongly resists the US government’s shameless efforts to block justice for the world’s worst crimes and condemn the outrageous sanctions on Albanese.” Israeli officials denounced Albanese’s report as “legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office” and accused her of having “whitewashed Hamas atrocities.” “Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defence.” The US had not previously addressed concerns with Albanese head on because it did not participate in either of the two UN Human Rights Council sessions this year. The Trump administration had withdrawn the US from these earlier this year. A request for comment from the UN’s top human rights body was not immediately returned.