Over 300,000 people have signed a petition supporting United Nations expert Francesca Albanese to win the Nobel Peace Prize after US President Donald Trump’s administration sanctioned her in connection with her work investigating alleged human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

The US State Department announced the sanctions on Wednesday, July 9, targeting Albanese, who is an independent UN expert on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank and Gaza.

Reports state that the move marks the first time a UN special rapporteur has been sanctioned by the United States. 

The decision comes after growing international scrutiny of Israel’s 21-month military campaign in Gaza, and follows a failed US effort to pressure the UN Human Rights Council to remove Albanese from her post.

Albanese, who is a human rights lawyer, has been vocal in calling for an end to what she has described as a “genocide” being carried out by Israel in Gaza. 

Both Israel and the United States, which provides Israel with military support, have rejected that characterisation.

Israel is currently facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and war crimes investigations at the International Criminal Court (ICC) related to its actions in Gaza.

Albanese’s stance has received support from several human rights organisations and leading genocide scholars.

A petition hosted on avaaz.org supporting Albanese to win the Nobel Peace Prize has garnered over 300,000 signatures. 

The organisers of the petition aim to reach at least 500,000 signatures.

“As people from across the world, we believe Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, and the doctors caring for people in Gaza deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for their work,” the petition read.

“She spoke out – now the Trump administration is punishing Francesca Albanese with sanctions,” it added.

“Meanwhile, she keeps centering those most at risk: everyone struggling in Gaza.”

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor, report, and advise on specific human rights issues or situations in various countries. 

They are not paid by the UN and operate independently of any government.

Albanese was reportedly sanctioned days after publishing a scathing report on June 30, in which she named more than 60 companies – including major US technology firms – that she alleged were complicit in transforming Israel’s “economy of occupation” into an “economy of genocide.” 

The report urged the ICC and national courts to investigate corporate executives and companies and recommended asset freezes and sanctions by UN member states.

In a statement announcing the sanctions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Albanese of “economic warfare” and said she had worked with the ICC to seek investigations against US and Israeli nationals without their governments’ consent.

“Today, I am imposing sanctions on Francesca Paola Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14203, ‘Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,’” Rubio said.

He added that neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Rubio called Albanese’s actions “a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries.”

“The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a Special Rapporteur,” Rubio said.

He also accused Albanese of making “extreme and unfounded accusations,” expressing “support for terrorism,” and writing “threatening letters” to dozens of corporations across sectors including finance, defense, energy, and technology, urging the ICC to investigate them.

“We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty,” Rubio said. 

“The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare, to check and prevent illegitimate ICC overreach and abuse of power, and to protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”

Despite the sanctions, the campaign to nominate Albanese and frontline doctors in Gaza for the Nobel Peace Prize continues to gain momentum, with growing global support and widespread calls to recognise their work.

IOL

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