US Lifts Sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese

According to a brief update published Wednesday on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, Albanese’s name was listed under a section titled “sanctions removal related to the International Criminal Court (ICC).”

The decision follows a federal judge’s ruling issued a week earlier, stating that the sanctions had restricted her freedom of expression. The judge found that the measures appeared to target her public statements and advocacy on human rights issues.

Albanese’s husband and daughter had filed a lawsuit in February, arguing that the sanctions were imposed as punishment for her public positions and human rights reporting. The ruling judge, Leon, said the Trump administration had attempted to regulate her speech because it related to her expressed opinions and communications.

The Trump administration had previously accused Albanese of biased and hostile conduct, as well as engaging in what it described as “lawfare,” particularly after she urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Judge Leon noted in his ruling that Albanese’s recommendations had no binding effect on ICC decisions and were expressions of opinion.

Albanese did not immediately comment on the lifting of sanctions. However, she had previously said the measures were intended to undermine her mandate.

Last week, she welcomed the court’s temporary order and thanked her family for their support.

The U.S. Treasury Department had initially imposed sanctions on her in July after she released a report accusing 48 companies, including major U.S. tech firms such as Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., and Amazon, of being linked to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which she described as a “genocidal war.”

Albanese has served as UN Special Rapporteur since May 2022, appointed as one of the independent human rights experts by the UN Human Rights Council.