By derimot*no - Middle East Eye - July 13, 2025

The US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese after her report on a "genocidal economy". Marco Rubio condemns Italian human rights researcher for urging ICC to intervene against Israel and the US.

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese. The sanctions follow Albanese’s scathing report from June 30, in which she named more than 60 companies, including major US technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft, that she said were involved in “turning Israel’s occupation economy into an economy of genocide.”

The report called on the International Criminal Court and national judicial systems to investigate and prosecute the companies' leaders and the companies. It also called on UN member states to impose sanctions and freeze assets.

“Today, I am imposing sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Francesca Albanese, for her illegal and shameful efforts to have the International Crime Court take action against American and Israeli officials, companies, and leaders,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense," Rubio added. The sanctions will freeze all assets Albanese has in the United States and will likely restrict her ability to travel to the United States.

Albanese is an Italian citizen. If the sanctions are fully enforced, they could also prohibit her from engaging in financial transactions within the EU. US sanctions carry weight because the US can impose secondary sanctions on entities, such as banks or financial institutions, that conduct transactions with the sanctioned individual. Unlike Iran or North Korea, the EU is heavily tied to the US economy.

In a later statement, Rubio said Albanese was waging “economic warfare” against the United States. Rubio said Albanese had written “threatening letters to dozens of companies around the world, including major U.S. companies in finance, technology, defense, and energy, making extreme and unfounded accusations, and recommending that the ICC investigate and prosecute these companies and their executives.”

"Getting rich on genocide."

In an exclusive interview with Middle East Eye, Albanese criticized American and European companies that she said profited from Israel's war on Gaza. "It's not the Israelis who are getting rich off the genocide, it's the corporations, and there's an oligarchy linked to the defense industry in the United States and Europe who are getting rich off the genocide," she told MEE.

The report did not focus exclusively on companies based in the United States, but included Caterpillar, Airbnb, and Lockheed Martin. South Korea's HD Hyundai, Sweden's Volvo Group, France's BNP Paribas, and the United Kingdom's Barclays were also listed.

The sanctions announcement coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, D.C. this week. Rubio and Netanyahu met on Wednesday. A U.S. official who spoke to MEE after the sanctions were announced called the move "consistent with administration policy" and said it was expected.

Albanese has become one of the most prominent UN critics of Israel's war on Gaza, which she has called a genocide against Palestinians. She has also criticized the policies of US President Donald Trump, particularly his plan announced in early February to take over the Gaza Strip and forcibly expel Palestinians.

The United States earlier this month called for the UN to remove Albanese from her position. Albanese declined to comment on the sanctions to MEE.

From Middle East Eye, published July 9, 2025.
Translated from English by Northern Light. Links in the original article.
Original article: US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese following 'economy of genocide' report.
Cover image AI-generated

The text represents the author's opinion, not necessarily that of www.derimot.no.