Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, gives a statement after meeting with the Slovenian parliament's Friendship Group with Palestine, in Ljubljana, on July 10, 2025. AFP
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision on Wednesday, accusing Albanese of “illegitimate and shameful efforts” to prompt International Criminal Court prosecutions of Israeli and US officials, as well as corporations profiting from the occupation and bombardment.
“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio said on social media.
The sanctions bar Albanese from entering the United States—where she has previously undertaken speaking tours—and freeze any assets she or her family members may hold in the country.
In a follow-up statement, Rubio accused her of “biased and malicious activities,” and claimed she had “spewed unabashed antisemitism [and] support for terrorism.” He also accused her of sending “threatening letters” to US companies, urging the ICC to pursue prosecutions—allegations he described as “unfounded.”
Albanese, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, holds an independent mandate to investigate violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. She does not speak on behalf of the UN itself.
Earlier this month, she released a report naming companies she said had “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide.” The findings focused on corporate complicity in Israel’s genocidal war, the settlement enterprise, and infrastructure sustaining the occupation.
The US sanctions come as global outrage mounts over Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, where its forces have destroyed entire neighbourhoods, bombed hospitals, schools, and shelters, and displaced nearly the entire population.
Israel’s war has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—according to Gaza’s health ministry, with thousands more missing under the rubble. Independent estimates suggest the true death toll may be closer to 100,000.
The US sanctions were welcomed by figures in both the US and Israeli governments.
Leo Terrell, a senior counsel at the US Department of Justice and chair of the DOJ Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, told Jewish Insider: “I applaud Secretary Rubio’s decision to impose sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. In May, I wrote a public letter calling for her removal due to her long and troubling record of antisemitic rhetoric. This long-overdue step sends a clear message: such hatred will not be tolerated.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also praised the move.
“Her relentless and biased campaign against Israel and the United States has long crossed the line from human rights advocacy into political warfare,” Danon said. “Albanese has consistently debased the credibility of the UN by promoting false, dangerous narratives that are detached from reality.”
Albanese has warned of “extermination” in Gaza and accused both Israel and the US of grave breaches of international law. In February, she condemned a US-backed proposal to forcibly relocate Gaza’s population, calling it “unlawful, immoral and... completely irresponsible because it will make the regional crisis even worse.”
The International Criminal Court is currently considering arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The sanctions on Albanese mark a significant escalation in Washington’s efforts to shield Israel from legal accountability and suppress criticism of the war.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online
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