U.S. sanctions UN expert over Gaza genocide reports

Department of Research, Studies and International News 11-07-2025

In a move widely condemned by human rights organizations and legal experts, the United States, under the administration of Donald Trump, has imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. The decision follows her consistent and outspoken condemnation of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza and her efforts to hold Israeli officials accountable through international legal mechanisms.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions, accusing Albanese of conducting a so-called “campaign of political and economic warfare” against both Washington and Tel Aviv. The sanctions, which include asset freezes and a travel ban into the U.S. for Albanese and her family, are widely viewed as a punitive response to her reporting and advocacy against Israel’s violent aggression and systematic destruction of Gaza.

Albanese, unfazed by the U.S. threats, responded succinctly and defiantly. “No comment on mafia-style intimidation techniques,” she said in a statement. “Busy reminding member states of their obligations to stop and punish genocide. And those who profit from it.” Her dismissal of the sanctions underscores the growing perception among many international observers that the U.S. is increasingly using coercion to shield Israel from legal scrutiny.

The sanctions come on the heels of Albanese’s public criticism of European governments that allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed in Gaza, to use their airspace for international travel. “Italian, French and Greek citizens deserve to know that every political action violating the international legal order weakens and endangers all of them. And all of us,” she wrote on social media, in a strong rebuke of Western complicity.

In a recent detailed report, Albanese exposed the involvement of multinational corporations, including American companies, in facilitating Israel’s military operations, which she and other experts have described as genocidal. The report highlights the transfer of weaponry, surveillance technology, and logistical support used in Israel’s ongoing decimation of Gaza, a territory reduced to rubble under a U.S.-backed campaign that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians over the past 21 months.

Rubio’s justification for the sanctions centers on Albanese’s calls for ICC prosecution of Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, both of whom face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include intentionally depriving Palestinians of life-sustaining essentials such as food, water, and medicine, actions considered grave violations under international humanitarian law.

Trump’s February executive order laid the groundwork for this legal assault on the ICC and its affiliates. In addition to targeting Albanese, the administration had previously sanctioned four ICC judges, reinforcing Washington’s aggressive stance against any international accountability for Israeli officials.

The backlash has been swift and global. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for the immediate reversal of the sanctions, warning of the dangerous precedent set by targeting UN experts for fulfilling their mandate. “Attacks and threats against special rapporteurs and other international representatives must cease,” he stated.

Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, expressed deep concern, stating that Albanese is fulfilling her responsibilities based on international legal standards. “Special Rapporteurs are independent experts, not mouthpieces for governments. Their role is to report violations, no matter how inconvenient that truth may be to powerful states,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). She further urged governments to resist the U.S. pressure and shield Albanese from any punitive consequences of these sanctions.

Nancy Okail, president of the Center for International Policy, criticized the move as “devastating,” adding, “Sanctioning a UN expert sends the message that the U.S. is acting in the same manner as authoritarian regimes.”

This latest episode only underscores the growing international divide, where voices calling for justice and accountability are increasingly silenced by the very powers responsible for enabling oppression. As Washington continues to align itself unconditionally with Israeli interests, at the expense of international law, human dignity, and truth, it further isolates itself from the global consensus that demands justice for Palestine.

The pressure campaign against Francesca Albanese is not just an attack on one individual, it is an attack on the legitimacy of international law itself. But despite U.S. intimidation, it is clear that Albanese and those who stand with the oppressed will not be silenced.