{"id":36610,"date":"2026-08-28T05:43:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=36610"},"modified":"2026-08-28T05:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:43:43","slug":"un-rights-office-condemns-us-designation-of-palestine-action-as-a-terrorist-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=36610","title":{"rendered":"UN rights office condemns US designation of Palestine Action as a &#8216;terrorist&#8217; group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76 collapsible-caption-module__license__CPQvV\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersconnect.com\/item\/protest-in-support-of-palestinians-in-sydney\/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjQ6bmV3c21sX1JDMk9JN0FZSE5ISQ%3D%3D\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/v2\/SLHDDK54JRLWXE5C6VQNMNHSHE.jpg?auth=5c5db31de6a6c8bcb52e56ce410ec85d26f6e0f4eea6b609668a6645b4bd8753&amp;width=1920&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Protest in support of Palestinians in Sydney\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Summary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UN rights office says designation amounts to expansive use of the term terrorism<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Washington issued the designation on Wednesday<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>UN rights office also condemned similar designation by UK<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.N. human rights \u200boffice said on Thursday the Trump administration&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/us-imposes-sanctions-palestine-action-group-2026-08-26\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">designation<\/a>\u00a0of the Palestine Action group as a terrorist \u200corganization was &#8220;a disproportionate and unnecessary restriction&#8221; on free speech rights that amounted to an expansive use of the term terrorism and will have a chilling effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Washington designated Palestine Action on Wednesday as a terrorist group, saying the step was part of President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald Trump&#8217;s<\/a>&nbsp;campaign to crack down on left-wing groups in counter-terrorism efforts. Israel&#8217;s foreign ministry welcomed the designation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war.&nbsp;Sign up&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/newsletters\/reuters-iran-briefing\/?location=article-paragraph&amp;redirectUrl=%2Fbusiness%2Faerospace-defense%2Fun-rights-office-condemns-us-designation-palestine-action-terrorist-group-2026-08-27%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The designation &#8220;appears to be both a disproportionate and unnecessary \u2060restriction on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association as well as the right \u200bto participate in public affairs,&#8221; the office of United Nations human rights chief Volker T\u00fcrk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Expansive use \u200bof the term &#8216;terrorism&#8217; has been documented to have a chilling effect on civic space.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Britain previously banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, which was also condemned by Turk&#8217;s office. The UK&#8217;s Supreme Court has said it will hear an appeal \u200bagainst a lower court ruling that Britain&#8217;s decision to ban the campaign group as a terrorist organization \u200bwas lawful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Palestine Action has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/litigation\/britains-ban-palestine-action-group-be-considered-by-top-court-2026-07-30\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">targeted Israel-linked defence companies<\/a>&nbsp;in Britain, especially Israel&#8217;s largest defence firm Elbit Systems, often blocking entrances or \u200cspraying \u2060red paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was banned by Britain shortly after a break-in at the Royal Air Force&#8217;s Brize Norton base in June 2025 in which activists damaged two military planes. The UK ban on the group had prompted protests in which about 3,000 people were arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group says its activities &#8220;have always been about saving lives \u200bby disrupting the Israeli \u200bwar machine&#8221; and opposing \u2060Israel&#8217;s assault on Gaza. It says it uses &#8220;disruptive tactics&#8221; to target &#8220;corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/pro-palestinian-foreigners-us-arrested-by-trump-administration-ordered-be-2025-06-20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attempted to deport<\/a>\u00a0pro-Palestinian foreign protesters, threatened \u200ba\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/columbia-university-pay-over-200-million-resolve-trump-probes-2025-07-23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">funding freeze<\/a>\u00a0for universities over protests, enforced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-screen-social-media-immigrants-rights-advocates-raise-concerns-2025-04-09\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media screening<\/a>\u00a0for immigrants, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-sanctions-un-expert-critical-israels-war-gaza-2025-07-09\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sanctioned critics<\/a>\u00a0\u200bof U.S. \u2060ally Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ben Saul, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, and Francesca Albanese, a U.N. expert on the occupied Palestinian territories, also raised concerns about Washington&#8217;s designation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such steps aim to silence critics, said Albanese, who herself \u2060has \u200bbeen sanctioned by the U.S. after she called Israel&#8217;s military \u200bactions in Gaza a &#8220;genocidal campaign&#8221; and called for war crime prosecutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sarah McLaughlin, senior scholar of global expression at free speech group FIRE, \u200bsaid that &#8220;we must reject that censorship &#8211; not import it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reference Link:- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/un-rights-office-condemns-us-designation-palestine-action-terrorist-group-2026-08-27\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/un-rights-office-condemns-us-designation-palestine-action-terrorist-group-2026-08-27\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.N. human rights \u200boffice said on Thursday the Trump administration&#8217;s\u00a0designation\u00a0of the Palestine Action group as a terrorist \u200corganization was &#8220;a disproportionate and unnecessary restriction&#8221; on free speech rights that amounted to an expansive use of the term terrorism and will have a chilling effect. Washington designated Palestine Action on Wednesday as a terrorist group, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[27082,1255,26714,34127,34125,34126,25050],"class_list":["post-36610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-human-right-groups","tag-israeli-occupation-of-palestine","tag-palestine-action-group","tag-self-determination-right","tag-terrorist-group","tag-un-condemns-us","tag-united-nations-2","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36611,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36610\/revisions\/36611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}