Rights organizations condemn US sanctions on Palestinian human rights groups News
Choinowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rights organizations condemn US sanctions on Palestinian human rights groups

A group of 78 rights organizations on Friday issued a joint statement condemning US sanctions on three Palestinian human rights organizations, raising concern over implications in the enforcement of international law.

Signed by major rights groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the statement said that the sanctions on Al-Haq, Al-Mezan and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) “undermine the abilities of civil society actors to pursue accountability under international law.”

According to the statement, the sanctions threatens “civil society infrastructure in Gaza,” preventing the proper documentation of human rights abuses and the operation of fact-finding missions. This, in turn, undermines attempts at accountability for grave international crimes.

Additionally, the organizations stated support for Volker Türk’s call urging the United States to withdraw the sanctions. Following the US sanctions in September, Türk had noted that punishing actors who pursue accountability deepens impunity and silences victims, encouraging the continuation of crimes.

In September, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned Al-Haq, Al-Mezan and PCHR for supporting the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Rubio argued that these organizations have engaged in efforts led by the ICC to illegally arrest, detain and prosecute Israeli nationals without consent from Israel, a non-member of the Rome Statute.

The decision follows the February 2025 Executive Order 14203 by President Donald Trump, which authorized the US government to impose sanctions, freeze assets, and restrict US entry, against individuals and organizations supporting ICC investigations of US citizens or allied nationals.

The work of Al-Haq, Al-Mezan and the PCHR includes testimony collection and dossier submissions to the ICC, which have been crucial to the documentation of war crimes committed in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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