The United States imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, on Wednesday.
The decision was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he wrote: “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 warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.”
Rubio further stated that the U.S. would push back against what he called "lawfare" from international institutions such as the UN, while accusing Albanese of being excessively biased in her role.
The sanctions prohibit Albanese from entering the United States, which may prevent her from attending UN meetings at the organization’s New York headquarters. Additionally, any financial assets she may have in U.S. banks or financial institutions are now frozen. She is also barred from conducting financial transactions within the U.S., and American companies or entities are prohibited from doing business with her.
Albanese has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank. Her comments have made her a frequent target of pro-Israel advocacy groups and public figures who have long called for her removal from her UN post.
The timing of the sanctions coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, D.C., raising speculation of a coordinated move between the U.S. and Israeli governments. In a similar move, the U.S. sanctioned International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan on February 6, just two days after Netanyahu’s first visit to Washington this year. That action followed Khan’s issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.