Chair of European Parliament’s Palestine Delegation slams sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur
The Left condemns in the strongest terms the recent decision by the Trump administration to sanction UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and calls for the implementation of the EU’s ‘blocking statute’ to protect EU citizens from US sanctions.
In a horrific week for Palestinians, as Israel ordered the construction of a concentration camp in Gaza and bombed children awaiting treatment for malnutrition, the latest decision by US secretary of state Marco Rubio to add Albanese to the sanctions list is the latest attack on international law by the Trump administration.
Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Palestine Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin, Ireland) said: “The sanctioning of Francesca Albanese represents a new low for the United States Government. It’s apparent that this decision is an attack on the UN Special Rapporteur for telling the truth about Israel’s genocide in Gaza – a genocide that the U.S is actively complicit in. EU leaders must make it clear that they support the UN Special Rapporteur and her mandate and will take all steps to protect her and her crucial work. Anything less is an act of cowardice and complicity and represents a capitulation to the undermining of the UN system and international law.”
The Left calls for the implementation of the European Union’s ‘blocking statute’ to protect both the UN Special Rapporteur and the International Criminal Court in the course of their vital work. The blocking statute prohibits European operators from complying with US sanctions that have extraterritorial reach.
