Criminalizing human rights: The U.S. and the war on international accountability

The decision by the U.S. State Department to impose sanctions on Albanese is deeply troubling. It signals the official American stance against any independent attempt to expose the genocide and systematic violations perpetrated by Israel in Gaza.

This move marks a dangerous shift away from the core principles of international law and human rights. It directly targets the United Nations and its mechanisms, undermining the independence of special rapporteurs.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited Albanese’s efforts to push for "swift action against American and Israeli officials, companies, and executives" as the reason for the sanctions.

However, Albanese’s reports and statements fall squarely within the scope of her official mandate. Legally, she is protected from any retaliatory or punitive action—including political or economic sanctions—for actions carried out in her official capacity.

According to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Francesca Albanese was one of the few who demonstrated the moral and professional courage to describe what is happening in Gaza as it truly is: a genocide unfolding in full view of the world.

She spoke openly about the complicity of major powers—led by the United States—in arming and shielding these crimes, and criticized countries that failed to act on the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he transited their territory or airspace.

Albanese’s work is legitimate and fully aligned with the mandate given to her by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Her documentation efforts and calls for accountability lie at the heart of this mandate. Asserting accountability, contrary to Rubio’s claims, is not a "war"—it is a legal imperative grounded in international law.

The U.S. sanctions violate the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which grants UN officials, including special rapporteurs, immunity from legal or administrative measures for actions or statements made in their official capacity.

Albanese’s actions fall entirely within her official duties, which legally shield her from any retaliatory or punitive measures—including economic or political sanctions—taken in response to her professional work.

As a party to this convention, the United States is legally obliged to respect the functional immunity of UN special rapporteurs and to refrain from punitive actions against them for carrying out their mandate.

Rather than reevaluating its own damaging policies regarding Israeli crimes, the U.S. has chosen to punish those who expose its complicity. The sanctioning of Albanese is a desperate attempt to suppress the truth and serves as a warning to anyone who dares to defend the victims of Israeli crimes.

Beyond the U.S.’s blatant double standards and its habitual use of sanctions as a political weapon, this action represents an overt and official rejection of the foundations of international law—especially the principle of accountability and its enforcement mechanisms. It is a direct attack on the legal order and a systematic effort to subjugate it to power and hegemony rather than justice.

The U.S. decision represents a clear deepening of its formal complicity in genocide—not only through military and political support, but by targeting anyone who seeks to expose or stop it, even through speech or legal mechanisms, as seen previously with the sanctions against International Criminal Court judges who issued arrest warrants for Israeli war criminals.