UN condemns US labeling Palestine Action as extremist group
The United Nations human rights office on Thursday condemned the United States’ decision to label Palestine Action a terrorist organisation, saying it risked undermining free expression and assembly.
Source: Astro Awani · August 28, 2026 at 12:01 AM · AI-assisted report
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NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, UNITED KINGDOM, GAZA, RAF BRIZE NORTON, 28 AUGUST 2026 —
The United Nations human rights office on Thursday condemned the United States’ decision to label Palestine Action a terrorist organisation, saying it risked undermining free expression and assembly.
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In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Washington’s move could chill public participation and warned that broad use of the “terrorist” label against civil society groups could intimidate critics into silence. He did not say whether the UN would formally challenge the designation.
The Trump administration announced the label on Wednesday as part of a wider effort to tighten counter-terrorism measures against left-wing groups, the US State Department said. Israel’s foreign ministry welcomed the decision.
Palestine Action, a British-based network, has been banned in the United Kingdom since 2025. The UN human rights office criticised London’s proscription after nationwide protests that followed an incursion at RAF Brize Norton, resulting in about 3,000 arrests. The group is known for blocking access to facilities and spraying red paint at defence contractors tied to Israel, including Elbit Systems, the country’s largest arms company.
The organisation says its protests aim to disrupt what it calls Israel’s war machine and oppose military action in Gaza. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, an expert on occupied Palestinian territories, argued the US move was designed to silence critics of Israel. She has herself been sanctioned by Washington for urging legal action over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
UN special rapporteur Ben Saul and Sarah McLaughlin, a free-speech advocate at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also criticised the designation, calling it an improper restriction on dissent in democratic societies.