US sanctions UN Palestinian human rights expert

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said on Wednesday (July 9): “Today, I decided to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council, for her illegal and shameful means of prompting the (International Criminal Court) to take action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies and responsible persons.”

Albanis posted on the X platform on Wednesday evening that she “firmly believes in standing on the side of justice, as I have always done”, but she did not directly mention the U.S. sanctions. In a reply text message to Al Jazeera, she said the U.S. move was a “mafia-style intimidation tactic.”

Albanese is an Italian lawyer and legal scholar who became the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories in May 2022. She called on members of the United Nations Human Rights Council to impose an arms embargo on Israel and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, while accusing the U.S. ally of launching a “genocide campaign” in Gaza.

Israel faces charges of genocide at the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) and war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its devastating military attacks on the Gaza Strip. Israel denies the allegations and says its actions were in self-defense following a Hamas terrorist attack in October 2023.

In a report released earlier this month, Albanese said more than 60 companies, including major weapons manufacturers and technology companies, were involved in supporting Israel’s settlement construction and military operations in Gaza. The report called on companies to stop doing business with Israel and hold executives suspected of violating international law accountable.

The International Court of Justice called on Israel to immediately stop its military operations in Rafah

“No longer tolerated”

Rubio said Albanese’s actions against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated, and the United States will always support its partners in safeguarding their right to self-defense. He also accused Albanese of “undisguised anti-Semitism” and “support for terrorism.”

Albanese is one of dozens of independent human rights experts authorized by the United Nations to report on specific topics and crises. The views expressed by the special rapporteur do not represent the position of the United Nations as a whole.

Human rights experts have severely criticized the sanctions imposed by the United States on Albanese. Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the think tank Center for International Policy, called it “rogue state behavior,” while Amnesty International said the special rapporteur must be supported, not sanctioned.

Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has halted U.S. engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, suspended funding for Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. He also announced plans for the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization.

In June, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on four judges of the International Criminal Court in retaliation for the court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its earlier decision to open an investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.