UN expert Francesca Albanese has been sanctioned by the Trump Administration days after telling Sky News that several large US companies were involved in an “economy of genocide” in Gaza.
Ms Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, told The World with Yalda Hakim on Monday that more than 60 private sector companies had “become enmeshed in the economy of occupation […] that have Israel displace the Palestinians and replace them with settlers, settlements and infrastructure Israel runs”.
Her comments came after she published a report on 1 July naming several large US companies that she claimed were involved, including some in the financial sector, big tech and the military industry.
She has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
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Arrest warrants have also been issued by the ICC for Hamas leaders.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Wednesday, saying they were for Ms Albanese’s “illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt” the ICC’s action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.
He added: “Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated.
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“We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defence.”
It is not yet clear what the practical impact the sanctions will have and whether Ms Albanese will be able to travel to the US with diplomatic paperwork.
In a post on X late on Wednesday, Albanese wrote that she stood “firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done,” without directly mentioning the sanctions. In a text message to Al Jazeera, she was quoted as dismissing the move as “mafia-style intimidation techniques.”
Jurg Lauber, president of the UN Human Rights Council, said in a statement he “regretted” the US’s decision to impose sanctions on Ms Albanese, adding: “Special Rapporteurs are an essential instrument of the Council in fulfilling its mandate to promote and protect all human rights worldwide.
“I call on all UN Member States to fully cooperate with the Special Rapporteurs and mandate holders of the Council and to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them.”
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Ms Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has long been critical of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), describing their actions in Gaza following the 7 October attacks as “genocide” – an accusation the Israeli government firmly denies.
She also told Hakim that Israel’s offensive in Gaza was “an assault against civilians” that is leaving its own soldiers “psychologically broken,” and that “many” of the young people fighting in Gaza are “haunted by what they have seen, what they have done”.
Israel’s war in Gaza began after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that claimed almost 1,200 lives. Roughly 60,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Gaza since, although Israel disputes the figures given by Hamas.
