The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.
This marks a significant escalation in its efforts to shield Israel from international scrutiny amid its ongoing war in Gaza.
Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has been outspoken in her criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, repeatedly referring to it as a "genocide." The sanctions come after earlier attempts by the United States to have her removed from her post at the United Nations failed.
Announcing the decision, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defence."
Albanese has urged international governments to impose sanctions on Israel to end what she describes as the “deadly bombardment” of Gaza. She has also voiced support for the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on allegations of war crimes.
Her recent UN report named several large American companies allegedly involved in enabling Israel’s military operations and occupation.
The sanctions come during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington for meetings with President Donald Trump and other top officials, as tensions over the war in Gaza continue to escalate.
Albanese's latest report, dated July 1, highlights the role of Western defence contractors, construction equipment makers, and companies across shipping, banking, travel, and academia in allegedly supporting Israel’s campaign in Gaza and the West Bank. “While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel's genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,” the report stated.
Critics of the sanctions argue that the move seeks to silence accountability efforts.
Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said, “The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely. UN and ICC member countries should strongly resist the US government's shameless efforts to block justice for the world's worst crimes and condemn the outrageous sanctions on Albanese.”
Israel’s UN mission in Geneva dismissed Albanese’s report as “legally groundless, defamatory, and a flagrant abuse of her office,” while also accusing it of “whitewashing Hamas atrocities.”
Although special rapporteurs like Albanese do not officially represent the UN and hold no legal power, they play a key role in monitoring human rights practices across the globe.
The sanctions against Albanese also appear to be part of a broader US crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and attempting to deport university faculty and students involved in pro-Palestinian protests.
Albanese remains defiant in the face of growing international pressure. In a recent post on X, she stated, “We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it. No one is safe until everyone is safe.”