FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n
UN Watch Welcomes U.S. Appeals Court Order Reinstating Sanctions on Francesca AlbaneseUN Watch filed an amicus brief in the case, submitting dossier on her record of abuse<\/p>\n
GENEVA, May 23, 2026 \u2014 UN Watch today welcomed a U.S. appeals court ruling that reinstates Washington\u2019s sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur accused of helping the International Criminal Court target Americans and Israelis, and who was condemned<\/a> by France, Germany, Canada, and numerous other countries for spreading antisemitism and Holocaust inversion.<\/p>\n In an order issued Friday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed a lower court order that had blocked the measures announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 9, 2025. The appellate court ruling allows Washington to \u201cimplement and enforce\u201d Albanese\u2019s designation as a sanctioned foreign national while the court considers the government\u2019s emergency appeal.<\/p>\n The sanctions stem from allegations that Albanese directly supported efforts by the International Criminal Court to prosecute American and Israeli nationals. The Justice Department argued in its emergency motion<\/a> that the district court\u2019s injunction improperly interfered with U.S. national security and foreign policy powers, and that Albanese, as a foreign national residing abroad, does not enjoy First Amendment protections under the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n UN Watch, an independent Geneva-based human rights organization, filed an amicus curiae brief<\/a> in the district court opposing the preliminary injunction sought by Albanese\u2019s family. The brief argued that Albanese\u2019s conduct went beyond protected speech and constituted active coordination with ICC prosecutorial efforts targeting U.S. and Israeli officials.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s ruling is an important victory for accountability and for the principle that no UN official is above the law,\u201d said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. \u201cThe appeals court recognized that the sanctions should remain in force while the case is reviewed, after a lower court wrongly suspended measures aimed at protecting America and its allies from politically weaponized international prosecutions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrancesca Albanese did not merely express opinions. She used her UN mandate to campaign for ICC prosecutions against democratic leaders and American companies,\u201d Neuer said. \u201cThat is precisely the conduct at issue in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n UN Watch\u2019s amicus brief<\/a> documented what it described as Albanese\u2019s sustained advocacy urging the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israeli officials, as well as U.S. corporations and institutions. The filing argued that her activities constituted coordinated support for ICC actions rather than independent academic commentary.<\/p>\n The UN Watch submission also included a detailed dossier<\/a> documenting dozens of public statements by Albanese urging ICC prosecutions of Israeli and American officials, endorsing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on international courts to pursue what she described as \u201capartheid\u201d and \u201cgenocide\u201d cases against Israel.<\/p>\n