US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is imposing sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, over her efforts to have the International Criminal Court take action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” Rubio said Wednesday in a post on X/Twitter.
“We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense,” he wrote. “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
In response, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote: “A clear message. Time for the UN to pay attention!”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said: “I support US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to impose sanctions on the antisemitic ‘human rights activist’ Francesca Albanese.”
“Her relentless, one-sided campaign against Israel and the United States has long crossed the line between defending human rights and spreading antisemitic propaganda,” he said.
'Albanese consistently undermines UN credibility'
“Albanese consistently undermines the credibility of the UN by promoting false and dangerous narratives that are completely detached from reality,” Danon said. “We will not remain silent, and we will continue exposing the antisemitic forces operating under the guise of the UN.”
Swiss Ambassador to the UN Jurg Lauber, president of the UN Human Rights Council, denounced the sanctions.
Special rapporteurs, such as Albanese, are “an essential instrument of the UNHRC in fulfilling its mandate to promote and protect all human rights worldwide,” he said.
Lauber called on “all UN member states to fully cooperate with special rapporteurs and to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them.”