US measures against UN mandate holder: A threat to the international human rights order

Berlin, 10 July 2025 – The sanctions imposed by the United States on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, set an unacceptable precedent and constitute a direct attack on the international human rights order. This is the first time that a state has imposed targeted punitive measures on a UN mandate holder, including a travel ban and the freezing of assets.

UN Special Rapporteurs act on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council and are protected by the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the UN (1946). Sanctions directed against the exercise of this mandate violate this protection and endanger the independence of UN human rights mechanisms.

This escalation follows the pattern of politically motivated attacks observed during the Trump administration. Current demands from Israel for sanctions against UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini also follow this pattern of targeted delegitimization.

At ECCHR, we strongly condemn these attacks. They aim to silence critical voices and undermine the United Nations' authority to protect human rights worldwide.

If the German federal government valued international institutions, it would condemn these measures. The fundamental principle of the UN mandate and its protection is what is at stake here and now.

To counter injustice with legal interventions – this is the aim and daily work of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

ECCHR is an independent, non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to enforcing civil and human rights worldwide. It was founded in 2007 by Wolfgang Kaleck and other international human rights lawyers to protect and enforce the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other human rights declarations and national constitutions, through legal means.

Together with those affected and partners worldwide, ECCHR uses legal means to end impunity for those responsible for torture, war crimes, sexual and gender-based violence, corporate exploitation and fortressed borders.

Maria Bause
T: +49 (0)30 - 698 197 97
M: presse@ecchr.eu

Susanne Hentschel
T: +49 (0)30 - 695 085 62
M: presse@ecchr.eu