WASHINGTON — The United States has imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in a move that has ignited international condemnation and underscored Washington’s hardening stance against criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The announcement, made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, introduced measures that include a visa ban, asset freezes, and a prohibition on financial dealings with US entities.
Mr. Rubio accused Ms. Albanese of pushing what he called a “radical agenda to dismantle Israel through lawfare,” citing her calls for International Criminal Court investigations into Israeli leaders, advocacy for arms embargoes, and criticism of corporate complicity in the Israeli occupation.
Speaking from Geneva, Ms. Albanese responded forcefully, calling the sanctions “mafia style intimidation techniques,” according to Reuters. She warned that the move represented an attempt to suppress independent UN mandates and shield war crimes from international scrutiny.
Sanctioning a UN rapporteur breaks new ground
It is rare for a UN Special Rapporteur to be sanctioned by a member state. Legal scholars note that the only comparable case occurred in 2020 when the Trump administration targeted ICC officials, sanctions that were later reversed. The current decision signals a potential reversion to aggressive tactics against global judicial mechanisms. This is shameful, observers argue, as it reflects a pattern where those accused of serious violations seek to bypass international law, evade justice through political pressure, and even undermine institutions like the International Criminal Court. In an era where accountability is paramount, such moves demonstrate how the most powerful and corrupt actors often run from their crimes rather than face them.
Ms. Albanese, a human rights lawyer appointed to her mandate in 2022, has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli officials and pro-Israel groups for her reports describing Israeli actions in Gaza as acts of apartheid and genocide. In her June 2025 presentation to the UN Human Rights Council, she reported that more than 2,200 Palestinian families had been entirely eliminated by Israeli bombardment, a claim supported by casualty statistics published by UN agencies and humanitarian monitors.
“It is genocide facilitated by impunity,” she declared, a phrase that has been widely circulated in coverage of her June 2025 report. While the exact wording is paraphrased in most mainstream coverage, her comments on genocide have been reported by Reuters and contextualized in Al Jazeera, affirming her criticism of Israel’s actions as constituting a genocidal campaign.
Pressure on corporations and calls for divestment
Among the allegations cited in the US sanctions package were Ms. Albanese’s efforts to spotlight corporate involvement in Israel’s occupation. In her June 2025 report to the UN Human Rights Council, she named more than 60 companies, including Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, Caterpillar, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM, for their roles in supplying arms, surveillance, and infrastructure to Israel’s military operations and settlements, according to The Guardian. She also criticized platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb for profiting from tourism in illegal settlements.
Albanese additionally called out financial institutions such as BNP Paribas, Barclays, Vanguard, Allianz, and BlackRock for investing in entities tied to the occupation economy. Her report emphasized the systemic profit structures behind the war effort, asserting that Israel’s campaign persists “because it is lucrative for many.” She described the financial web sustaining the occupation as an “economy of genocide”—a phrase that drew strong reactions from political leaders in the United States and Israel.
International response sharply divided
The move by Washington drew immediate condemnation from major human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch said the sanctions amounted to an “intimidation tactic against lawful UN oversight.” Amnesty International added that it represented a misuse of US financial tools to silence criticism of a key ally.
A spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Council, speaking to Politico, warned that such pressure could undermine the independence of all mandate holders. European diplomats quoted anonymously by CNN voiced concern over the extraterritorial precedent, calling it a blow to multilateral diplomacy.
Israel welcomes U.S. move as legal experts express alarm
Israel’s UN Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, supported the US sanctions and has previously accused Francesca Albanese of antisemitism and bias against Israel, as noted in public statements and official Israeli diplomatic communications. The Anti-Defamation League also issued a statement supporting the sanctions, claiming her reports “consistently delegitimize Israel and cross into antisemitic tropes,” according to coverage by The Guardian and Fox News.
But prominent legal scholars voiced alarm. Richard Falk, a former UN Special Rapporteur and professor emeritus at Princeton University, said in earlier writings that actions against independent investigators like Albanese represent “a dangerous erosion of international legal norms” and warned that such tactics “undermine the UN’s mandate to uphold human rights without fear or favor.”
A test for the future of international law
This is the first time the United States has applied formal financial and travel sanctions to a sitting UN human rights investigator. With more than 37,000 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza, and UN humanitarian offices struggling to function amid continued Israeli bombardments, observers warn the effort to penalize Ms. Albanese may chill future inquiries.
As the UN grapples with growing restrictions on its operations in conflict zones, Ms. Albanese’s case now stands as a critical litmus test: whether international law will hold power to account, or whether power will dictate the limits of justice.
