US imposes sanctions on UN expert Francesca Albanese

The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on the special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council Francesca Albanese, an open critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. State Secretary Marco Rubio linked the move to its support for the International Criminal Court (GJPN), some of whose judges have already been sanctioned by the US.

Rubio said the U.S. were sanctioning the Albanian for direct engagement with the JPN in its efforts to prosecute American or Israeli citizens, accusing him of being inappropriate for serving as UN Special Rapporteur. Sanctions will likely prevent Albanese from travel towards the US and block any assets it has in place, writes BBC.

This is the latest escalation by the Trump administration while conducting a campaign against The JPN, after having already sanctioned four of its judges after the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-protective Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, charges they dismiss.

Rubio also accused Albanese of having “spread anti-Semiticism, expressed support for terrorism, and had openly despised the United States, Israel and the West”.

The move will likely provoke a sharp response from those arguing for responsibility for the number of civilian dead from the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

The special rapporteur has long argued that Western governments are not doing enough to support Palestinian rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, and with its open stand has drawn considerable support among those who accuse Israeli and American leaders of using charges of anti-Semiticism as weapons in order to silence criticism of their policies.

The timing of the sanctions announcement is important, with Netanyah currently located in Washington, where he was met Wednesday with a long-standing honour cord at the Pentagon. Albanian has previously rejected similar claims against her, telling the BBC in October: “I don't take these remarks lightly and the slander they carry, but at the same time, I know this has nothing to do with me, because my ancestors knew it had nothing to do with them”.

I also know that these member states [pronounce accusations of anti-Semiticism] have done absolutely nothing to uphold international law. ”

The Israeli Army launched a campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas-led attack on October 7th 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage. At least 57,575 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-led health ministry of territory. Most of Gaza's population has also shifted several times. More than 90% of homes are estimated to have been damaged or destroyed; health care systems, water, sanitation and hygiene have collapsed; and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and housing. /Periscope/