U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions against a senior official of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday. The official had criticized Israel's military operations in Gaza, and Rubio accused her of "leading a political and economic war against the United States and Israel."
Last week, Francesca Albanese, a special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council, called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to "investigate and prosecute corporate executives or corporate entities," accusing Israel of committing war crimes during its war with Hamas.
In a report, Albanese named 48 corporate entities, including arms manufacturers and financial companies, accusing them of profiting from the war by collaborating with the Israeli government.
In a statement, Rubio said that Albanese's actions urging the ICC and other institutions to initiate criminal proceedings were "unlawful and shameful." Rubio stated, "The United States will continue to take all measures we believe necessary to address the legal battle and protect our sovereignty as well as that of our allies,"
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice's special task force against antisemitism had urged the United Nations to remove Albanese, citing her silence on certain atrocities and selective expressions of anger.
Since Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Albanese has consistently called for sanctions against Israel and an arms embargo. In February of this year, the Israeli government banned her from entering the country because she publicly stated that "the victims of the massacre on October 7, 2023, were not killed because of their Jewish identity, but as a response to Israel's oppression."
The UN Human Rights Council has not yet commented on this.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837239060576260/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.