SAEDNEWS: The US State Department has imposed sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese—marking the first time Washington has punished a UN human‑rights investigator for her condemnations of Israeli actions in Gaza.
According to Saed News, the US Department of State announced on July 9, 2025, that it is sanctioning Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and on the situation in the Gaza Strip. The announcement, made via US diplomatic channels and reported by the Associated Press, underscores Washington’s “zero tolerance” for what it describes as Ms. Albanese’s “politically motivated campaign” against the United States and Israel.
In a post on platform X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared: “Francesca Albanese’s political and economic campaign against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We stand firmly with our partners and their right to self‑defence.” The move follows months of unsuccessful US efforts to have Ms. Albanese removed by the UN, critics say part of a nearly six‑month push by the Trump administration to silence voices it views as hostile to Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Ms. Albanese, an Italian human‑rights lawyer appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, has repeatedly alleged that Israel’s military operations in Gaza amount to “genocide” and “apartheid”—charges vehemently rejected by both the Israeli government and Washington. In recent weeks, she published open letters urging member states to apply sanctions on Israel to halt the bombing campaign, and she has backed International Criminal Court indictments against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Her reports have also accused multinational corporations of complicity in sustaining Israel’s occupation and military actions in Gaza. These findings drew sharp rebukes from pro‑Israel lobby groups in the United States and the Middle East, as well as an unprecedented public statement last week from the US Mission to the UN urging her dismissal on grounds of “long‑standing antisemitism and unrelenting bias.” That statement branded her allegations of genocide and apartheid as “false and offensive.”
The Gaza conflict, which began on October 7, 2023—when Hamas militants launched an incursion that resulted in roughly 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages—has since escalated into a protracted military campaign. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 57,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, have been killed, and nearly two‐thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants displaced. Humanitarian agencies warn that after nearly 21 months of siege and bombardment, access to critical medical care remains nearly impossible.
As the sanctions take effect, diplomatic observers warn that Washington’s punitive action against a UN official could strain US relations with partners who value the independence of UN human‑rights mechanisms. For Ms. Albanese, the blacklisting represents a stark escalation in the battle over how the Gaza war is framed—and who gets to document its human‑rights impact.
