Francesca Paola Albanese
Washington: The United States has intensified its confrontation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by imposing sanctions on Francesca Paola Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, accusing her of waging “lawfare” against American and Israeli nationals.
“Today, I am imposing sanctions on Francesca Paola Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967′, under President Trump’s Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court’,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
The sanctions target Albanese for her engagement with the ICC to investigate and prosecute US and Israeli individuals without their governments’ consent.
“Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries. Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries,” Rubo stated.
The move, which underscores the growing rift between the US-Israel alliance and the ICC, highlights the two nations’ non-party status to the Rome Statute, fueling a heated debate over sovereignty and international justice.
Rubio’s statement condemned Albanese’s actions as a “gross infringement” on US and Israeli sovereignty, neither of which recognises the ICC’s jurisdiction as non-signatories to the 1998 Rome Statute. The US withdrew its signature in 2002, citing risks to its military personnel, while Israel, also a non-signatory, has rejected ICC probes into its actions in Palestine, arguing they lack legal basis. Albanese, Rubio alleged, has pushed the ICC to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a move he branded as rooted in “unabashed antisemitism” and “support for terrorism.” He further accused her of targeting major American companies in finance, technology, defence, energy, and hospitality with threatening letters, urging ICC investigations into their executives for alleged complicity in Israeli actions.
The sanctions follow a pattern of US resistance to ICC scrutiny. In 2020, the Trump administration sanctioned ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for probing US actions in Afghanistan, a policy reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021 but reinstated under Trump’s second term via E.O. 14203. Recent US statements at the UN, reported by Reuters, show a hardening stance, with a State Department adviser warning on 8 July 2025 that “all options remain on the table” if ICC actions against the US and Israel persist. Israel, meanwhile, has faced ICC scrutiny since 2021 for alleged war crimes in Palestine, with Albanese’s reports accusing its leadership of systematic violations, including in Gaza, prompting sharp rebukes from Jerusalem.
Albanese’s actions have sparked controversy beyond the US. Her letters to global firms, described by Rubio as “extreme and unfounded,” have drawn criticism for overstepping her UN mandate, though UN officials, cited by Al Jazeera, defend her role in highlighting human rights abuses. The ICC’s pursuit of warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, initiated in May 2025, has further strained relations, with Israel accusing the court of bias and the US vowing to shield its ally. Neither country has ratified the Rome Statute, limiting the ICC’s jurisdiction, but Palestine’s 2015 accession allows probes into its territories, a legal grey area that fuels the ongoing tussle.
Albanese, an Italian national, is an international lawyer, specialised in human rights and the Middle East. Since May 2022, she has served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. The task of the Special Rapporteur is to assess the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, report publicly about it, and work with governments, civil society and others to foster international cooperation.
The sanctions on Albanese mark a broader US-Israel pushback against what Rubio calls “political and economic warfare” by the ICC. The US has warned of further measures to curb the court’s “illegitimate overreach,” while Israel has urged allies to denounce ICC actions. This clash, set against rising global tensions over accountability in conflict zones, underscores the challenges of enforcing international law when powerful nations opt out. As the ICC presses forward with its investigations, the US and Israel’s defiance signals a deepening divide, with implications for global justice and sovereignty debates.
– global bihari bureau
