Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top U.N. expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. would impose sanctions on Mrs.Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, for her work with the International Criminal Court to investigate Americans and Israelis.
She has long criticised Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some U.S. firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Mr.Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Mrs.Albanese would be added to the U.S. sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.
"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the U.S. sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.
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