US Sanctions UN Expert For Stating Facts, Calls It 'Diplomacy'
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on Palestinian rights, denounces the US sanctioning her as 'mafia-style techniques' after she criticized Washington's Gaza policy. This isn't groundbreaking; US administrations have a long tradition of penalizing those who dare to label their partners' actions as what they are. The US regularly uses its enormous financial and diplomatic leverage to
silence dissent in international bodies, often citing 'national security interests' that curiously align with Israeli policy. Remember when the US threatened to cut funding to the UN if it recognized Palestinian statehood? (Source: NYT, 2011) So, the 'rules-based order' means Washington gets to dictate the rules, and if you don't play along, your travel plans get complicated. Albanese's new report
will be released from South Africa, because apparently, criticizing state violence by a US ally is a graver offense than, say, committing war crimes. One might wonder, how many UN experts need to be targeted before we admit the 'free world' has a very conditional view of freedom?