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Depraved US government sanctions Francesca Albanese for criticism of Israel

The US government have sanctioned UN expert Francesca Albanese for her critiques of genocidal Israel. US secretary of state Marco Rubio released a statement imposing sanctions on Albanese for her:

efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries.

Rubio continued:

Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.

That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In fact, Albanese’s open contempt for the US, Israel, and the West has been entirely well-founded and meticulously researched. The UN Special Rapporteur has been a shining light of an expert understanding of Israel’s genocide in Palestine. And, almost certainly the cause of Rubio’s consternation, has been her robust explanations of how the US and the West are facilitating Israel’s genocide.

US sanctions Albanese

In his statement, Rubio repeats the legal misapprehension that Trump’s administration have repeatedly trotted out. Namely, that Albanese is overreaching through her agreement with the International Criminal Court (ICC) that those responsible for the genocide must be brought to legal justice. Of course, it’s obvious why Rubio is going after Albanese rather than the ICC directly. Albanese is one person who has made immeasurable contributions to both expert and public understanding of Israel’s genocide. It’s a cowardly move designed to cow Albanese.

However, unfortunately for Rubio, Albanese remains unmoved by the US sanctions on her. In a message sent to Al Jazeera she said:

No comment on mafia style intimidation techniques.

Busy reminding member states of their obligations to stop and punish genocide. And those who profit from it.

Rubio in particular notes that the US believes Albanese’s interventions to be an overreach because:

Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries.

Here, Rubio argues that the ICC have no jurisdiction over the US. But, this is a gross misinterpretation of the legal facts. As Human Rights Watch explained:

The claim that the statute is “overreaching” because it supposedly binds states that have not ratified the treaty through the exercise of jurisdiction over their nationals is a gross distortion.

As the rights experts explain, the ICC does not “bind” non-States Parties or give them obligations towards the court. Only state parties – member states of the ICC – are obliged to respond to treaties from the ICC. In other words, the US need not (and do not, for that matter) treat any missives from the ICC as a legal obligation. To the US, it’s a communication of international legal jurisprudence. Importantly, none of this is new in international law:

this possibility already exists as part of general international law and corresponds with established state practice…there is, moreover, nothing unusual about the conferral of jurisdiction over nationals of non-State Parties through the mechanism of treaty law.

And, as is typical for a belligerent and hypocritical US:

It has in fact exercised jurisdiction over non-U.S. nationals in a number of cases, on the basis of the treaty provisions empowering it to do so.

Rubio’s sanctioning of Albanese is no misunderstanding of international legal norms. It is an attempt to intimidate and silence a prominent legal critic of Israel’s genocide. And, it is the type of hostility we can expect of a state bankrolling genocide.

Outrage

For those of us with more of a moral backbone, there has been plenty of outrage about the US sanctions on Albanese.

The president of the UN Human Rights Council, Jürg Lauber, decried the US’ attempted intimidation:

Amnesty International also decried the sanctions:

Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said of the US sanctions on Albanese:

This is a shameless and transparent attack on the fundamental principles of international justice. Special Rapporteurs are not appointed to please governments or to be popular but to deliver their mandate.

Francesca Albanese’s mandate is to advocate for human rights and international law, essential at a time when the very survival of Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip is at stake. These sanctions come just days after she published a new report detailing how companies have profited from Israel’s illegal occupation, its brutal system of apartheid and its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

And, Callamard forcefully concluded:

States must forcefully reject these disgraceful, vindictive sanctions and exert maximum diplomatic pressure on the US government to reverse them.

One commenter got to the heart of why the sanctioning happened:

Researcher Philip Proudfoot referred to the “crown jewels”:

Economist Yanis Varoufakis spoke out:

And, Albanese herself said of the US sanctions on her:

Just to be sure, on this day more than ever: I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done. I come from a country with a tradition of illustrious legal scholars, talented lawyers and courageous judges who have defended justice at great cost and often with their own life. I intend to honor that tradition.

American lies

The US sanctions on Albanese is the attempt of a state reckoning with the growing global condemnation of their closest ally, Israel. It is unheard of for states to single out single UN experts. And, the statement from Rubio is riddled with lies, misapprehensions, and bluster. It is simply a fact that the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for the butcher Netanyahu and his accomplice Gallant are due to their architecture of Israel’s genocide.

Albanese has shown the grit and strength of character that is typical of her work. Her priceless efforts have evidently threatened a global superpower – long may it continue.

As ever, the American illusion of freedom and democracy is entirely conditional on who it considers strategic allies and anyone who objects to their total geopolitical dominance is, by default, a terrorist.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/UN Human Rights Council

By Maryam Jameela

This post was originally published on Canary.