The Trump administration on Thursday sanctioned UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, for her remarks against Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the role of the US.
While making the announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Albanese was sanctioned for her support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued arrest warrants to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Rubio said that the US imposed sanctions on Albanese for directly engaging with the ICC in its efforts to prosecute American or Israeli nationals, accusing her of being unfit for service as a UN Special Rapporteur.
Sanctions on Albanese might prevent her from travelling to the US and would block any assets she has in the country.
Hours after the US made the announcement, Albanese posted on X: "[O]n this day more than ever: I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done."
Albanese has made several controversial statements in the past. She has routinely expressed anti-American and anti-Western views. Here’s a list of her remarks that have sparked furore.
‘US founded upon genocide’
During an anti-fascist rally on Liberation Day in Italy on April 25, Albanese called the United States 'a nation founded upon genocide.'
Gaza a concentration camp
Albanese called the Gaza Strip ‘the largest and most shameful concentration camp of the 21st century’. Her statement was widely criticised as inflammatory and antisemitic.
Calls for international legal action
Albanese has advocated for the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Israeli and US officials for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Justified Oct 7 attacks
The UN expert seemed to justify the October 7 attacks by claiming that the Jewish victims were killed as a result of Israeli aggression on Palestinians.
Critique of US companies
Albanese once described Israel as "a regime of settler-colonial apartheid." Additionally, she claimed that US corporations are profiteering from Israel’s ‘genocidal campaign in Gaza.’
