By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -The top U.N. expert on Palestinian rights said on Friday that the U.S. decision to place her under sanctions could have a “chilling effect” on people who engage with her and restrict her movements, but that she planned to continue her work.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Francesca Albanese would be added to the U.S. sanctions list for her actions, which he described as prompting illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.
Albanese said she now faces asset freezes and potential travel restrictions, warning that the U.S. decision could set a “dangerous” precedent for human rights defenders worldwide.
“There are no red lines anymore … It is scary,” she told Reuters via video link from Bosnia, where she was attending events for the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.
“It might block me from moving around. It will have a chilling effect on people normally engaging with me because for American citizens or for green card holders, this is going to be extremely problematic.”
“My plans are to continue what I’ve been doing,” she added.
The White House was not immediately available for comment.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories is one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.
Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. She recently published a report calling on states at the U.N. Council to impose an arms embargo and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, while accusing the U.S. ally of waging a “genocidal campaign” in Gaza.
Israel’s mission in Geneva said the report was “legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office.”
The U.N. Human Rights office confirmed on Friday that Albanese is the first special rapporteur to be sanctioned and called for the decision to be reversed. The European Union said it “deeply regrets” the U.S. decision. Rights defenders have also rallied to her defence.
Israel has faced accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the ICC over its military assault on Gaza.
Israel strongly denies the accusations and says its campaign amounts to self-defence after the deadly, Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in October 2023.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout in Brussels; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
