Civil society urges end to sanctions on UNSR Francesca Albanese, demands big tech accountability for violations in Palestine

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, express our grave concern over the unprecedented decision by the United States government to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

This move represents a dangerous escalation in efforts to silence human rights experts and discredit international accountability mechanisms. It undermines the independence of the UN Special Procedures system, and sends a chilling message to civil society and rights defenders who engage with mandate holders on issues ranging from health, freedom of expression, privacy, violence against women and torture to corporate accountability and business and human rights.

Albanese’s recent report, “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide”, reveals how the Israeli occupation "has become the ideal testing ground for arms manufacturers and big tech – providing boundless supply and demand, little oversight and zero accountability – while investors and private and public institutions profit freely.” It identifies several sectors that fuel the economy of occupation and of genocide, including military, surveillance, heavy machinery and construction, tourism, agribusiness and others. There is special emphasis on the role of big tech and the complicity of companies with a primary business model that relies on digital technology, like Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, HP, Airbnb and Booking.com, in violating the people’s right to self-determination, participating in annexation and occupation in Palestine. 

The report also identifies how AI, cloud services, biometric surveillance and predictive policing technologies have reinforced military operations, population control and unlawful targeting of civilians in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It presents a groundbreaking contribution to the understanding of how global corporate actors have enabled and profited from Israel’s illegal occupation and their complicity in crimes of genocide and apartheid. 

We, the undersigned, call on the United States government to immediately lift the sanctions against UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese and refrain from taking any actions that impede the work of mandate holders.

UN member states and international justice institutions must initiate investigations into the allegations leveled in Albanese’s report against corporate entities. Corporations found in violation of international law must face legal consequences for contributing to and causing human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.

Signatories: 

• Kandoo
• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Access Now
• Nexus Research Cooperative, Ireland
• Bits of Freedom
• Ekō
• Association France Palestine Solidarité - AFPS
• The Palestine Committee in Norway
• Palestine Legal
• Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia
• American Friends Service Committee
• IFEX
• World Association for Christian Communication (WACC)
• Majal
• FIAN International
• The Tor Project
• Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias AC
• Redes por la Diversidad, Equidad y Sustentabilidad A.C.
• Abolition Law Center
• Derechos Digitales
• Zaina Foundation
• Hermes Center
• TEDIC - Paraguay
• IT for Change
• Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja
• Palestinian Cenetr for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)
• CITAD
• BlueLink Foundation
• Tech Workers Coalition
• Ziggurat
• Tech for Palestine
• EngageMedia
• No Tech for Apartheid
• Transnational Institute
• Myanmar Internet Project
• NoScript
• Fight for the Future
• Alison Gillwald, University of Cape Town
• +integridad MX
• GreenNet
• Alternatives International
• Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
• IPANDETEC
• Latin American Institute of Terraforming (terraforminglatam.net)
• Abrimos.info
• Visualizing Palestine
• Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression for Human Rights (AFTE)
• ALQST for Human Rights
• SMEX
• Pangea.org
• Foundation for Media Alternatives
• Jokkolabs Banjul
• Fantsuam Foundation
• JCA-NET (Japan)
• 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
• Association for Progressive Communications (APC)