Belgium expresses concern over US sanctions on Palestinian human rights groups
'Civil society must be able to play its crucial role in democracies,' Foreign minister says
People gather in front of North Train Station (Gare du Nord) to show solidarity with Palestinians and call for an end to the war in Gaza on September 07, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.
BRUSSELS
Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot on Wednesday expressed deep concern over recent US sanctions targeting three Palestinian human rights organizations for their cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a post on the US social media platform X, Prevot described the sanctions on Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights as "deeply alarming."
The statement came after Washington also imposed sanctions on ICC judges and deputy prosecutors.
"Civil society must be able to play its crucial role in democracies. Undermining it and the Court weakens our collective ability to combat impunity and to strive for the respect of international law," the minister said.
The Israeli army has killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to famine and the spread of diseases.
