The US State Department has barred a high-level Palestinian delegation including Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas from entering the United States to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The restriction marks the second consecutive year that Washington has blocked the Palestinian leadership from participating in the annual global gathering.
Amnesty International Condemns Visa Denials
Responding to the announcement, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, policy, advocacy and campaigns, called for the immediate reversal of the decision. According to Amnesty International, the State Department’s official statement makes it clear that the visa denials are intended to penalize the State of Palestine for pursuing international justice and accountability at international institutions, including through the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. Guevara Rosas described the measure as part of a relentless campaign of reprisals against the very notion of international justice.
Amnesty International warned that ongoing actions against human rights groups and international legal frameworks undermine the global legal order. The organization pointed to unilateral sanctions, disregard for binding orders and advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice, arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, and resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.
Multilateralism and Host Country Obligations
Amnesty International stated that the restriction sets a dangerous precedent by allowing the host country to leverage its position to impose arbitrary travel limitations on participants attending UN General Assembly sessions and other official meetings.
The organization also urged member states resisting trade with illegal Israeli settlements to defend the multilateral system underpinning the United Nations. In its statement, Amnesty International called on the United States to revoke sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court, ICC judges, Palestinian human rights organizations, and the UN special rapporteur on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.
As the diplomatic standoff continues, the delegation remains blocked from traveling to New York as the UN General Assembly session approaches.
