What to know about Francesca Albanese, the UN investigator sanctioned by the U.S.

The United States has imposed sanctions on the United Nations official who investigates human rights abuses in occupied Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish those who criticize Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

Here's what you need to know.

Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, is one of dozens of independent human rights experts mandated by the UN to report on specific themes and crises. Outside experts, such as Albanese, do not represent the United Nations as a whole but they report to the council as a means of monitoring countries' human rights records.

Their reports can step up pressure on countries, while their findings inform prosecutors at the International Criminal Court and other venues working on transnational justice cases.

Albanese has long been an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council last week, Albanese said Israel was "responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history." In an interview with CBC's Front Burner podcast last November, she said it was her view that Israel's "ultimate goal is ethnic cleansing" in the enclave.

"Under the fog of war, this is what Israel does. It forces Palestinians out of their homes, out of their land. It destroys. It creates conditions that are unlivable, and it makes it impossible for the Palestinians to return," she said.

She has urged other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip. She has been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court's (ICC's) arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for allegations of war crimes.

Israel and the U.S. have strongly denied accusations of genocide. Israel has said its military campaign in Gaza amounts to self-defence after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which saw roughly 1,200 people killed and more than 250 taken hostage.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry has said women and children account for the majority of those killed, but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians.

Albanese has faced criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the U.S. and in the Middle East. The U.S. mission to the UN issued a scathing statement last week, calling for her removal for "a years-long pattern of virulent antisemitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias."

In a report published earlier this month, Albanese named Western defence companies that have provided weapons used by Israel's military as well as manufacturers of earth-moving equipment that have bulldozed Palestinian homes and property. 

The report called on those companies to stop doing business with Israel and said executives enabling or profiting from human rights violations and alleged international crimes should be held accountable.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was sanctioning Albanese for her work with the ICC to investigate Americans and Israelis. He also said Albanese "has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West."

"We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty," read a statement from Rubio.