WASHINGTON — The United States has said it has not changed its position on sanctioning Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, after her name was removed from the U.S. sanctions list following a federal court order.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the removal was a temporary step taken to comply with a court injunction and did not represent a reversal of policy. Washington said it would seek to restore the sanctions if a higher court overturns or pauses the lower court’s ruling.
Albanese was sanctioned in July 2025 under an executive order targeting what the Trump administration described as “lawfare” against the United States and Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused her of encouraging the International Criminal Court to act against U.S. and Israeli officials and entities, a charge her supporters rejected as retaliation for her criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Treasury Department later removed Albanese from the Specially Designated Nationals list after U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan temporarily blocked enforcement of the sanctions. The judge found that Albanese was likely to succeed in arguing that the measures violated her free-speech rights, particularly because they followed her public criticism of Israel and U.S. policy.
The ruling barred the State, Treasury and Justice departments from implementing or enforcing the designation while the case continues. The Treasury Department’s sanctions service also noted that Albanese’s designation is not being implemented or enforced during the injunction.
Albanese, an Italian legal scholar, has served as the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. She has repeatedly accused Israel of committing grave violations in Gaza and has called for stronger international accountability. Israel and U.S. officials have accused her of bias, while human rights groups have defended her mandate and criticised the sanctions as an attack on independent UN experts.
The case has become part of a wider dispute over the limits of U.S. sanctions authority and the protection of speech in foreign-policy debates. Civil liberties advocates say sanctioning a UN expert for public advocacy could chill criticism of U.S. allies and international legal processes.
For the Trump administration, however, the issue remains tied to its opposition to international investigations targeting Israel and U.S. personnel. Officials insist the court order does not weaken their position and say they will continue defending the sanctions in appeals court.
For now, Albanese is no longer subject to active U.S. sanctions, but the legal fight is far from over.
