UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has condemned sanctions imposed by Washington following her criticism of the White House’s position on Gaza as a “violation” of her immunity. The UN expert made the statement during a visit to Bogotá, nearly a week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions, labelling her work “biased and malicious.”
“It is a very serious measure. It is unprecedented. And I take it very seriously,” Albanese stated. She is in Bogotá participating in an international summit convened by leftist President Gustavo Petro seeking solutions to the Gaza conflict.
The Italian jurist and human rights expert has faced strong criticism for her longstanding accusations that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza. Albanese asserted the sanctions constitute “a clear violation of the UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities, which protects UN officials, including independent experts, for words and actions undertaken in the exercise of their functions.”
On July 9th, Rubio announced Washington would sanction the UN rapporteur “for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to induce the ICC to act against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.” Albanese countered that the sanctions serve as “a warning to anyone who dares to defend international law and human rights, justice and freedom.”
Last Thursday, the United Nations urged the US to revoke the sanctions against Albanese, along with those against International Criminal Court judges. On Friday, the European Union also spoke out against the sanctions faced by the UN rapporteur, adding that it “firmly supports the UN human rights system.”
Albanese, who assumed her mandate in 2022, published a report this month alleging companies – many of them American – have, in her view, “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide” in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report prompted a furious Israeli response, while some companies raised objections.