UN Human Rights Council regrets US sanctions on Francesca Albanese

Geneva: The United Nations Human Rights Council expressed regret Thursday over the decision by the United States government to impose sanctions on Fra...

Geneva: The United Nations Human Rights Council expressed regret Thursday over the decision by the United States government to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory.

In a statement, Council President Jurg Lauber emphasized that Albanese was appointed by the Human Rights Council and that Special Rapporteurs are a vital mechanism for the Council to fulfill its mandate of promoting and protecting all human rights worldwide.

Lauber called on all UN member states to fully cooperate with Special Rapporteurs and other mandate holders appointed by the Council.

Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged the United States to reverse its sanctions against Albanese, which were imposed in response to her work under her mandate concerning the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Turk said that UN Special Rapporteurs, along with other parts of the human rights system, inherently address sensitive and often controversial issues that raise international concern, adding that the solution is not to reduce debate and dialogue, but to increase them around the very real human rights concerns they raise.