The United States sanctioned a United Nations special expert on Palestine, following her criticism of American and Israeli policies on Gaza war.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while announcing Washington’s decision, denounced UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her efforts to implicate U.S. and Israeli officials vis-a-vis situation in Gaza Strip.
The besieged Gaza Strip has been the battleground for Israel’s war against Palestinian militant organization Hamas since October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel.
“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.
Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt @IntlCrimCourt action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.
Albanese’s campaign of political and economic…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 9, 2025
On Thursday, the United Nations called for reversal of the sanctions against the Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
Rubio took exception to Albanese’s recommendation to the ICC that arrest warrants be issued against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC.
The U.S. top diplomat accused Albanese of having “spewed unabashed antisemitism (and) support for terrorism.”
Albanese was appointed to as Special Rapporteur by the UN Human Rights Council.
Officially, she does not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.
Aid trucks wait for Israeli permission to enter Gaza with life-saving supplies
In a report she criticized companies, alleging that they “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation.
She also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump idea of taking over the Gaza Strip and resettle the displaced Gaza residents elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the UN said Albanese was only performing the task she had been assigned.
In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the “prompt reversal” of the sanctions against the Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur “in response to work she has undertaken under the mandate” she is tasked with.
“Even in face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures,” he said.
Reacting to the U.S. announcement of sanctions, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the imposition of sanctions on Special Rapporteurs sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“The use of unilateral sanctions against Special Rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable,” he said on Thursday at his regular news briefing in New York.
However, Rubio argued that Albanese directly engaged with the ICC and was part of the efforts against the U.S. citizens.
The Secretary of State also noted that Albanese wrote “threatening letters” to several US companies.
“We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty,” Rubio said.
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