Prof. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin and Human Rights Center Visiting Fellow Alyssa Yamamoto Co-Author Commentary on Special Rapporteur Protections

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Regents Professor; Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy, and Society; and faculty director of Minnesota Law's Human Rights Center, and Alyssa Yamamoto, visiting fellow with Minnesota Law’s Human Rights Center, co-authored an article for OpinioJuris discussing the importance of respecting the privileges and immunities of internationally appointed experts. This summer, the U.S. imposed sanctions on various individuals linked to the International Criminal Court (ICC), including a Special Rapporteur. Prof. Ní Aoláin and Visiting Fellow Yamamoto wrote, “These sanctions affirm the Trump administration’s sustained undermining of international justice institutions, further underscoring its multifaceted, comprehensive attack on advocates perceived to criticize Israel’s ongoing conduct in the war in Gaza. Not only are the sanctions an indefensible attack on the ICC–a court of last resort for victims and survivors of horrendous atrocities–but the extension to the U.N. Special Rapporteur creates a particularly dangerous precedent that undermines the very architecture of the U.N. human rights system.”