UN Watch Welcomes U.S. Appeals Court Order Reinstating Sanctions on Francesca Albanese

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 injunction that had temporarily blocked the measures announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 9, 2025.

The appellate court ruling allows Washington to “implement and enforce” Albanese’s designation as a sanctioned foreign national while the court considers the government’s emergency appeal.

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 that the district court’s preliminary 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.

UN Watch, an independent Geneva-based human rights organization, filed an amicus curiae brief in the district court opposing the preliminary injunction sought by Albanese’s family. The brief argued that Albanese’s conduct went beyond protected speech and constituted active coordination with ICC prosecutorial efforts targeting U.S. and Israeli officials.

“Today’s ruling is an important victory for accountability and for the principle that no UN official is above the law,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch.

“The 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.”

“Francesca Albanese did not merely express opinions. She used her UN mandate to campaign for ICC prosecutions against democratic leaders and American companies,” Neuer said. “That is precisely the conduct at issue in this case.”

UN Watch’s amicus brief documented what it described as Albanese’s 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.

The UN Watch submission also included a detailed dossier 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 “apartheid” and “genocide” cases against Israel.

The UN Watch filing also catalogued statements in which Albanese questioned Hamas atrocities, compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and amplified statements describing Israel as “the incarnation of evil.”

The D.C. Circuit ruling was issued to allow the court sufficient time to consider the government’s motion for a longer stay pending appeal. Briefing will continue through early June.

“This is not the end of the case, and the court will soon hear further arguments,” Neuer added. “But today’s decision sends a serious signal that the administration’s sanctions authority — especially in matters touching national security and foreign affairs — cannot simply be brushed aside.”