LAST UPDATE | 10 Jul

THE US IS imposing sanctions on a United Nations expert who recommended sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel and penalties for companies enabling its human rights violations in Palestine.

UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese was appointed by the council – though she does not speak on behalf of the UN itself – to monitor human rights issued in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced yesterday that the US is imposing sanctions on Albanese for what he described as “illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives”.

He attacked her for what he called “biased and malicious activities,” and accused her of having “spewed unabashed antisemitism” and “support for terrorism”.

No details of what the sanctions entail have been made public. 

Albanese said today that the sanctions were “calculated to weaken my mission”.

“I will continue to do what I have to do,” she told reporters during a visit to Slovenia.

UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman has said the sanctions are “unacceptable” and insisted that they set “a dangerous precedent”.

Albanese published a report last month on the human rights situation in Palestine in which she recommended that countries impose sanctions and a full arms embargo on Israel and suspend/prevent all trade agreements and investment relations with Israel.

She also said that sanctions, including the freezing of assets, should be imposed on entities and individuals involved in activities that may endanger Palestinians and that corporate entities should face legal consequences for their involvement in serious violations of international law. 

She has also criticised the US’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza, particularly the plan that US President Donald Trump proposed in February for the US to seize control of Gaza. She dismissed the plan as “utter nonsense” and called it an international crime.

“It’s unlawful, immoral and… completely irresponsible because it will make the regional crisis even worse,” she said in February.

Albanese wrote on social media yesterday that she stands “firmly and convincingly on the side of justice”.

Just to be sure, on this day more than ever: I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done. I come from a country with a tradition of illustrious legal scholars, talented lawyers and corageous judges who have defended justice at great cost and… https://t.co/Oytoeg5QMo

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) July 9, 2025

In an interview with The Journal in March, Albanese spoke about Ireland in the context of the war in Gaza.

She said that Ireland’s recognition of the State of Palestine and the contribution to the advisory opinion for the International Court of Justice on the illegality of Israel’s occupation were positive moves, but that Ireland’s support for Palestine was less apparent in areas like trade and the use of aerial space for for flights carrying arms to Israel.

The UN has called on the US to reverse its decision to sanction Albanese, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk saying there must be an end to “attacks and threats” by the US against people appointed by the UN and other international institutions like the International Criminal Court.

“I urge the prompt reversal of US sanctions against a Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council, Francesca Albanese, in response to work she has undertaken under the mandate on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory,” Turk said in a statement.

Amnesty International condemned the sanctions, saying the move was a “shameless and transparent attack on the fundamental principles of international justice”.

“Special Rapporteurs are not appointed to please governments or to be popular but to deliver their mandate. Francesca Albanese’s mandate is to advocate for human rights and international law, essential at a time when the very survival of Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip is at stake,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard.

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Callamard said that following recent US sanctions against the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ntanyahu and his former defence minister, “the measures announced today are a continuation of the Trump administration’s assault on international law and its efforts to protect the Israeli government from accountability at all costs,”.

“Instead of attacking the Special Rapporteur and further undermining the rule-based order, the US government should focus on putting an end to its unconditional support to Israel, enabling total impunity for its crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Meanwhile, the UN managed to bring 75,000 litres of fuel into Gaza today for the first in 130 days, Guterres’ spokesperson said, noting it was still far from enough to alleviate shortages in the war-torn territory.

“We and our humanitarian partners need hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel each day to keep essential life-saving and life-sustaining operations going, meaning that the amount entered yesterday isn’t sufficient to cover even one day of energy requirement,” said Stephane Dujarric, warning that crucial services will shut down if more fuel does not enter Gaza immediately.

The delivery comes after the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced today that the bloc had agreed on a plan to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where more than 57,000 people have been killed and the UN says the population is at risk of famine.

Additional reporting by AFP and David Mac Redmond

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