US accuses UN expert of ‘economic warfare’ over report on companies aiding Israeli occupation
US mission to UN accuses Francesca Albanese of sending 'threatening correspondence' to major American corporations'
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese
WASHINGTON
The US Mission to the UN denounced a new report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, accusing her of waging “economic warfare” against American and global firms by naming them as complicit in Israel's occupation and military actions in the Palestinian territories.
In a statement Tuesday, the mission said that Albanese had sent “threatening correspondence to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American corporations,” accusing them of being complicit in “gross human rights violations, apartheid, and genocide.”
“These letters also constitute an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy,” the statement said, adding her allegations against Israel were “false and offensive.”
The US also reiterated its call on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to condemn Albanese’s actions and seek her removal from the role of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
“The United States warned that continued failure to do so would not only discredit the United Nations but would also require significant actions in response to Ms. Albanese’s misconduct,” the statement said.
Albanese’s report, which is set to be presented in Geneva on Thursday, reportedly identifies corporations allegedly facilitating the Israeli occupation, including companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Palantir that provide military hardware, surveillance technology and infrastructure that support Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
