US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Trump calls for MAGA base to end 'Epstein Files' obsession
Trump's Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memo made public last week there was no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures. They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide at a New York prison in 2019, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe. The move was met with incredulity by some on the US far-right -- many of whom have backed Trump for years -- and strident criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. "What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!" Trump said Saturday in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform. "We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," he added, referring to his "Make America Great Again" movement. Many among the MAGA faithful have long contended that so-called "Deep State" actors were hiding information on Epstein's elite associates. "Next the DOJ will say 'Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,'" furious pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tweeted after last week's move. "This is over the top sickening." Far-right influencer Laura Loomer called for Trump to fire Bondi over the issue, labeling her "an embarrassment." But on Saturday, Trump came to the defense of his attorney general, suggesting that the so-called "Epstein Files" were a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party for political gain, without specifying what benefits they hoped to attain. On Saturday, Trump struck an exasperated tone in his admonishment of his supporters. "For years, it's Epstein, over and over again," he said. "Let' waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about." The US president called for Patel and Bondi to instead focus on what he terms "The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020," which Trump lost to Joe Biden. The Republican has repeatedly perpetuated unfounded conspiracy theories about his loss being due to fraud. He called for the FBI to be allowed to focus on that investigation "instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE'S GREAT!" Trump, who appears in at least one decades-old video alongside Epstein at a party, has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the financier. "The conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been," said FBI Director Patel on Saturday, hours before Trump's social media post. Not everyone, however, seemed to be on the same page. US media reported that Dan Bongino -- an influential right-wing podcast host whom Trump appointed FBI deputy director -- had threatened to resign over the administration's handling of the issue. © 2025 AFP
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Macron calls on EU to 'defend European interests' in US tariff talks
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, July 12, condemned US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 30% tariffs on the European Union, calling on the bloc to "resolutely defend European interests." US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that Mexico and the EU would be slapped with 30% tariffs starting on August 1, raising the stakes in already tense negotiations with two of the largest US trading partners. Expressing France's "very strong disapproval" of the announcement, Macron called on the bloc to "step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilizing all instruments at its disposal" if the two sides failed to reach an agreement by August 1. "France fully supports the European Commission in the negotiation that will intensify to reach a mutually acceptable agreement by August 1, so that it reflects the respect that trade partners such as the European Union and the United States owe each other," he wrote on social media. Earlier Saturday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hit out at the new tariffs threatened by Trump, but said the EU still sought a deal to avert the measures. 'Unfair deal' Meanwhile, Mexico slammed Trump's latest tariff threat as an "unfair deal," according to a government statement. "We mentioned at the table that it was an unfair deal and that we did not agree," the Mexican economy and foreign ministries said in a joint statement. Mexico is already in negotiations seeking an alternative to tariffs that would protect businesses and jobs on both sides of the border, the ministries added, saying they hope to avoid the duties. President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom Trump often refers to favorably, expressed confidence Saturday that a deal would be reached. "We are going to reach an agreement with the US government," Sheinbaum said during a public event hours after Trump's social media post announcing the elevated tariffs. She said the talks in Washington would allow Mexico to be in a "better position" by August 1.
LeMonde
8 hours ago
- LeMonde
How Trump adapts his tariff threats for economic, diplomatic and ideological ends
Donald Trump added the European Union to his list of countries facing the threat of new customs duties on Saturday, July 12. In a message posted on Truth Social, his private social network which has become the primary communication channel for the White House, the US president stated that products imported from the European Union would be subject to a 30% surcharge if no agreement is reached that meets his expectations – specifically, a "complete open" European market for American goods. On July 7, Trump acknowledged that his commercial threats had yet to yield results and, by executive order, postponed the deadline for implementing the unilateral tariff increases – originally announced on April 2 and already delayed once – to August 1. These repeated delays have earned the US president an unflattering acronym: TACO, for Trump Always Chickens Out. Markets, for their part, were largely unmoved when the White House occupant again brandished the threat of tariff hikes in letters sent to major US trading partners, including South Korea and Japan, on July 8. After Canada on July 10, Mexico was the next recipient of these messages posted on Truth Social on Saturday. While the United States' northern neighbor was threatened with a 35% increase in import taxes, a 30% hike was directed at its southern partner. In both cases, the president mixed often questionable economic arguments with considerations unrelated to trade.
