Portrait

Francesca Albanese, UN rapporteur on Gaza, in the crosshairs of US sanctions

United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, in a recent report written for the UN entitled 'From the Economics of Occupation to the Economics of Genocide', she named 45 private companies that would directly or indirectly support the Israeli army and the occupation of the territories

by Rome Editorial Staff

11 July 2025

Francesca Albanese, relatrice speciale delle Nazioni Unite per i Territori Palestinesi

3' min read

Key points

Rubio's accusation: "He fomented anti-Semitism"
Albanese's speeches on the crisis in Gaza
The Italian: "I will continue to do what I have to do"
EU: regrets US sanctions against Albanian

3' min read

The United States has imposed sanctions against Francesca Albanese, an Italian jurist specialising in international law and human rights protection, since 2022 UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories. The Italian had long been under Washington's lens. To understand why the United States has moved in this direction, one need only turn to what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. His "campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated", Rubio made clear in announcing the initiative, due to Albanese's "illegitimate and disgraceful efforts to pressure the International Criminal Court to act against US and Israeli officials, companies and leaders". Neither the United States nor Israel," Rubio recalled, "are party to the Rome Statute, which makes his action a gross violation of the sovereignty of both countries.

It is now a question of what size the sanctions announced by the US will be. Rubio has not given any indication of this. Among the hypotheses is that Albanese will not be allowed to enter the United States, and that his assets in the country - if any - will be seized.

Rubio's accusation: 'He fomented anti-Semitism'

According to the US Secretary of State, Albanese 'fomented anti-Semitism, expressed support for terrorism, and contempt for the United States and Israel', and this bias of his has been evident throughout 'his career, including his recommendation to the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant'.

In a recent report written for the UN and entitled 'From the economics of occupation to the economics of genocide', Albanese pointed to 45 private companies that would directly or indirectly support the Israeli army and the occupation of the Palestinian territories by making 'profits on the destruction of innocent lives'. These include the American Lockheed Martin (the company that produces the F-35), Caterpillar, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Ibm and Palantir.

Albanese's remarks on the crisis in Gaza

Albanese, 48, originally from Ariano Irpinio, a graduate in law from the University of Pisa and master's degree with a specialisation in human rights from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, has on several occasions denounced the 'genocide' in Gaza and called for a halt to the flow of weapons to Israel, which she accused of embodying 'apartheid' par excellence. In recent weeks, the United States had called for her resignation after a UN Watch report accused her of accepting $20,000 in travel funding from Hamas-linked groups, in violation of UN rules of conduct. Following the report, the Justice Department's civil rights division had asked the UN in a letter to 'immediately remove' Albanese from her post as her conduct 'had dishonoured the institution'.

The Italian: 'I will continue to do what I have to do'

The Italian went on the counter-attack. The US sanctions, she said, are measures 'calculated to weaken my mission. I will continue to do what I have to do. Yes, of course, it will be challenging... I am putting everything I have into it,' he said during a visit to Ljubljana. "They want to intimidate me, and anyone who tries to tell the truth about the ongoing genocide in Gaza, using methods reminiscent of those adopted by the mafia. But they will not succeed, because I will continue to do my job with my back straight, demanding the involvement of the International Criminal Court. Israeli PM Netanyahu must be tried in The Hague,' he added in an interview with Repubblica. Albanese received the news of the sanctions while he was travelling to Srebrenica: 'I am going to commemorate the victims of that genocide, in the hope that it will become a lesson to prevent it from being repeated,' he said. 'I do not want to comment on this, but I would like to talk about the fact that 60,000 people were killed in Gaza, including 18,000 children. The news is not me, but the attempt to silence the reports of genocide. This is just the latest disgraceful move by the US since my last report'.

EU: regrets US sanctions against Albanian

"The EU strongly supports the UN human rights system and deeply regrets the decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories." This was said by European Commission Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni during the daily press briefing. "The EU," he added, "continues to support efforts to undertake independent investigations into violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including those that could amount to international crimes."