Albanese says sanctions were retribution for her naming of US companies
The UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories has denounced the sanctions issued against her by the administration of US President Donald Trump, saying the US tech giants named in her recent report had “gone whining” to the government.
“They’ve never challenged me on the facts. I’ve given these companies the opportunity to correct me. Instead, they’ve gone whining to the US administration to treat me as they are,” she told reporters Thursday morning during a visit to Ljubljana, Slovenia. “This speaks to who they are, and I will continue to do what I have to do.”
Earlier this month, Albanese released a report naming scores of corporations aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza, in breach of international law. The report names 48 corporate actors, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, Inc. – Google’s parent company.
“I am the first UN person to be imposed a sanction for what? For having exposed the genocide? For having denounced the system?” she asked.
UN expert Francesca Albanese rejects ‘obscene’ US sanctions
We have some comments from the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory who was hit with US sanctions yesterday.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Francesca Albanese said the measures against her will not stop her “quest for [the] respect of justice and international law” as mandated in her role.
“It’s obscene, frankly,” she added of the Trump administration’s move.
“I want to remind everyone [that] the reason why these sanctions are being imposed, is the pursuit of justice. Of course I’ve been critical of Israel – it has been committing genocide and crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Albanese continued.
“And what I’ve exposed is that this genocide doesn’t only go ahead because of the unrelinquished territorial ambitions of Israel, or because of ideological affinity of some groups with what Israel is doing, but also because there are companies who are profiting from it.”
Albanese said she is still evaluating the direct effect of the US sanctions against her, but she stressed that whatever repercussions she faces pale in comparison to what Palestinians in Gaza are confronting under Israel’s bombardment and blockade.
‘Sanctions will only work if people are scared’: Albanese
We have more from Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur:
- “This is a moment, a defining moment in history. It’s a turning point and moment of reckoning,” she told Al Jazeera.
- Albanese compared the pressure she has faced for speaking out against Israeli crimes against Palestinians to “mafia intimidation techniques” that involve “destroying the reputation and then intimidating and then threatening anyone who dares to denounce the system – the collusion – between political and economic and financial interests”.
- “I come from a place that has been plagued by this kind of logic, a place where judges, lawyers, activists … have been killed for their stance on the side of justice. So I know what people risk when they stand against big powers,” she said.
- “But what I also know are lessons that come from my part of the world – that these techniques work only if they manage to silence the people … The sanctions will only work if people are scared and stop engaging.”
- “Together we can stop this disgrace but we need to awaken and stand united against it.”
