US imposes sanctions on UN human rights official critical of Israel

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Francesca Albanese of “political warfare”

The US has announced sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, who condemned Israel’s war in Gaza.

In a post on X on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measure is a response to Albanese’s “illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt the International Criminal Court action against US 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 said.

Albanese was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which US President Donald Trump has accused of bias and spreading antisemitism. In February, the White House announced that the US would no longer participate in the UNHRC, mirroring the stance taken during Trump’s first term in office.

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…— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 9, 2025

Albanese has repeatedly labeled Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide” and urged countries to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the 2024 warrant issued by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).

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“I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done,” Albanese wrote on X shortly after the sanctions announcement.

Both the US and Israel are not members of the ICC and have firmly rejected the warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Last month, the US imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, including those who authorized the court to investigate the conduct of American troops in Afghanistan. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the move as “deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice.”