UN associate loses blue check on X after getting hit with US sanctions

Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, many international groups have attempted to curb the United States' policies that support its allies abroad. However, the social media platform X, in cooperation with the United States, has slapped one of its major international detractors with sanctions, set to go into effect later this week.

Francesca Albanese, an Italian associate with the United Nations covering the conflict between Israel and Palestine, lost her verified status on X on Monday. This news comes as the sanctions imposed on her by the United States are set to take effect this week.

'Stripping that badge sends a clear message: Anyone who targets US officials and companies and supports terrorists will suffer consequences, no matter their title.'

In a July 9 press statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would be imposing sanctions on Albanese, the "Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967."

Albanese is being sanctioned pursuant to an executive order that sanctions those who "have directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person without consent of that person's country of nationality." The sanctions are set to go into effect August 8, according to a Treasury Department document.

RELATED: Rubio not taking guff from ICC — hammers foreign judges over targeting of US and Israel

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

On X, Rubio called out Albanese for her "illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives."

Rubio explained that her actions are a "gross infringement" on the sovereignty of both the U.S. and Israel because neither country is party to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court.

"This is a major achievement," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, the organization that led the campaign against Albanese. "Verification on X provided Albanese with many advantages — greater visibility, algorithmic amplification, and an appearance of credibility. Stripping that badge sends a clear message: Anyone who targets U.S. officials and companies and supports terrorists will suffer consequences, no matter their title."

According to the United Nations' website, special rapporteurs "are independent experts appointed to monitor and report on human rights issues worldwide. These experts serve in their personal capacity, are not UN staff and receive no financial remuneration for their work."

The sanctions will reportedly freeze Albanese's U.S. assets, bar her from entering the country, and prohibit U.S. citizens from selling to her.

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