The United States Treasury Department has formally removed the sanctions it imposed on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. The change, published on the Treasury’s website, lists Albanese under “removals of sanctions related to the International Criminal Court”.
The decision comes one week after US federal judge Richard Leon suspended the sanctions, upholding an appeal filed in February by Albanese’s husband and daughter. In his ruling, Judge Leon granted the family’s request, stressing that “protecting freedom of speech is ‘always’ in the public interest”.
Why Washington Targeted the UN Expert
The sanctions were originally imposed by the Trump administration in retaliation for Albanese’s public denunciations of violations of Palestinians’ human rights, which she attributed to Israel. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had condemned the expert’s criticism of the United States and claimed that the rapporteur had urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Albanese has not yet commented on the lifting of the sanctions. On her social media accounts, her latest posts concern the capture and arrest by Israel of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, among them dozens of Italians and other European citizens.
The case has drawn attention across Europe, where human rights organisations and several EU member states have voiced concern over the use of unilateral sanctions against UN mandate holders. The European Parliament has previously debated the issue, with some MEPs arguing that such measures undermine the multilateral system. The episode also echoes broader transatlantic tensions over the International Criminal Court, which the US has long opposed in principle.
For European observers, the lifting of sanctions may signal a slight easing of Washington’s confrontational stance toward UN human rights mechanisms, though the underlying policy differences remain. The EU has maintained its own sanctions regimes, including those targeting individuals and entities linked to Russia, as seen in the EU Vows to Maintain Pressure on Russia as UK and US Adjust Sanctions report. Meanwhile, the bloc continues to navigate complex geopolitical dynamics, such as the Hungary Signals Shift on EU Sanctions Against Russian Patriarch Kirill story, which highlights internal divisions over sanctions policy.
The Albanese case also underscores the growing role of judicial review in checking executive actions, a principle that resonates strongly in European legal systems. Judge Leon’s ruling, which prioritised free speech, may set a precedent for future challenges to US sanctions against international officials.
As the situation develops, European diplomats and human rights advocates will be watching closely to see whether the US administration will adopt a more cooperative approach toward UN rapporteurs, or whether this remains an isolated reversal.
