The Trump administration has announced sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, citing her support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and sharp criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Albanese had directly engaged with the ICC in its effort to prosecute US and Israeli nationals, actions he claimed made her “unfit for service as a UN Special Rapporteur.”
The sanctions, revealed on Monday, are expected to bar Albanese from travelling to the United States and freeze any US-based assets, although the extent of her exposure remains unclear.
Albanese, a human rights lawyer from Italy, did not directly address the sanctions but posted defiantly on X: “On this day more than ever: I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice.”
She also reposted a thread supporting the ICC, saying she intended to honour the legacy of Italian lawyers who “defended justice at great cost.”
The move comes amid ongoing tensions over ICC arrest warrants issued last year against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, which the US has forcefully rejected.
Rubio further accused Albanese of antisemitism, of endorsing terrorism, and of waging “economic warfare” through letters sent to multinational firms, urging them to cease operations in Israel or face ICC action.
Albanese recently warned corporations they risked complicity in war crimes if they continued business operations tied to Israeli settlements or military logistics.
Critics have denounced the sanctions as an attack on independent UN oversight and international law. Former UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, now Secretary General of Amnesty International, called the move “deeply troubling”.
“Governments around the world and all actors who believe in the rule-based order and international law must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of the sanctions against Francesca Albanese,” she said.
The sanctions announcement coincided with Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, prompting speculation about the political timing.
Albanese has long been a vocal critic of Western powers for, in her view, ignoring Palestinian suffering while backing Israel militarily and diplomatically.
She has also drawn criticism for past remarks, including a 2014 comment referencing a “Jewish lobby” in US policymaking. While she has expressed regret, she denies the charge of antisemitism.
The Gaza war, which began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel, has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Over 90% of homes have been damaged or destroyed, and much of the Strip’s infrastructure has collapsed.
The US and Israel are not members of the ICC and reject its jurisdiction, but 125 countries are signatories to the Rome Statute, which obligates them to uphold the court’s rulings.
Despite fierce pushback, Albanese insists her mandate is to defend international law: “This is not about me, as my predecessors knew it was not about them.”
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