Speaking to Reuters, Albanese said that “there are no red lines anymore,” adding that she now faces asset freezes and potential travel restrictions.
It might block me from moving around. It will have a chilling effect on people who normally engage with me, because for American citizens or green card holders, this is going to be extremely problematic,” Albanese told the news agency, adding, “My plans are to continue what I’ve been doing.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions against Albanese this past Wednesday, naming her a “specially designated national,” and forbidding all US persons and companies from doing business with her.
Rubio said that Albanese “spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West,” citing her recommendations to the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as evidence of her unfitness for her UN role.
He further noted that she escalated her campaign by sending “threatening letters” to dozens of global entities, including major American companies, urging ICC investigations and prosecutions.
The US move drew immediate condemnation from several international figures and bodies sympathetic to Albanese's work.
The European Union (EU) voiced strong opposition to the sanctions on Friday.
"We deeply regret the decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese," said EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni during a daily briefing in Brussels, as quoted by Reuters.
He emphasized that the EU "strongly supports the United Nations human rights system."
The UNHRC recently extended Albanese’s term as special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the “Palestinian territories” for an additional three years, despite her continued anti-Israel statements and actions.
Albanese’s anti-Israel bias was first exposed in 2022, in the form of antisemitic posts she made on social media, in which she claimed that the “Jewish lobby” controls the US.
At the time, Albanese rejected arguments that the comments about the “Jewish lobby” were antisemitic and claimed they were “mischaracterized”, but her anti-Israel bias has continued to be exposed since.
No comments:
Post a Comment