{"id":2615994,"date":"2026-06-19T07:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/un-rapporteur-albanese-faces-uphill-battle-with-first-amendment-case\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:08:59","slug":"un-rapporteur-albanese-faces-uphill-battle-with-first-amendment-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/un-rapporteur-albanese-faces-uphill-battle-with-first-amendment-case\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Rapporteur Albanese faces uphill battle with First Amendment case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fun-rapporteur-albanese-faces-uphill-battle-with-first-amendment-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2615994&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Francesca Albanese, an italian UN expert residing in Tunisia, is involved in a unique First Amendment lawsuit related to her speech overseas, despite not being a U.S. citizen. She was placed back on the U.S. sanctions list after a court stay reversed a previous injunction, which was challenged due to her American daughter&#8217;s citizenship and her U.S. residency. Albanese, known for her advocacy against Israel and her vocal criticism of Israeli policies in Palestinian territories-whom she compares to genocide-claims the sanctions severely impacted her family. A U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-interview-cited-as-evidence-by-abrego-garcia-lawyers\/\" title=\"Trump interview cited as evidence by Abrego Garcia lawyers\">judge initially ordered<\/a> her removal from the sanctions list, but the Court of Appeals overturned this, allowing the sanctions to be reinstated, raising questions about First Amendment protections in foreign contexts. Albanese&#8217;s role as a UN rapporteur is controversial; she is seen by critics like Hillel Neuer as leveraging her position for publicity and alleged bias, while she defends her actions as truthful advocacy. Her outspoken statements, including calling Israel the &#8220;main threat&#8221; to humanity and condemning the international system enabling Palestinian suffering, have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/items-seized-in-controversial-police-raid-at-family-owned-kansas-newspaper-returned\/\" title=\"Seized items from disputed police raid on Kansas newspaper returned.\">sparked widespread criticism<\/a> and calls for her removal. Despite efforts to dismiss her, Albanese remains in her UN role until at least 2028, with her case highlighting complex legal and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >diplomatic issues surrounding free speech<\/a>, international roles, and sanctions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Italian expert credentialed by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-nations\/\">United Nations<\/a> and living in Tunisia is at the center of a highly unusual <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/first-amendment\" type=\"link\" id=\"washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/first-amendment\">First Amendment<\/a> lawsuit, despite not being a citizen and the speech in question taking place overseas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese has been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4584800\/treasury-sanctions-francesca-albanese-again\/\">placed back on the sanctions list<\/a> after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay this week against a lower court\u2019s previous injunction.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4616068\/labours-andy-burnhams-special-election-win-could-spell-doom-for-starmer-as-prime-minister\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Labour\u2019s Andy Burnham\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/latino-group-torches-biden-after-gop-victory-in-south-texas-democrats-make-a-mockery-of-our-culture\/\" title=\"Latino Group Torches Biden After GOP Victory In South Texas: Democrats Make \u2018A Mockery Of Our Culture\u2019\">special election win<\/a> could spell doom for Starmer as prime minister<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4615253\/uk-sentencing-two-chinese-spies\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>UK sentences two Chinese British nationals for spying on Beijing\u2019s behalf<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4614705\/cuba-expand-private-business-economic-plan\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Cuba expands private business permits in emergency economic plan<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese \u2014 an advocate against the Israeli government who has drawn international <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/independent-un-body-condemns-vicious-attacks-un-expert-palestinian-rights-2026-02-17\/\">condemnation<\/a> for her rhetoric \u2014 is hoping a residence she owns in the United States and her daughter\u2019s American citizenship will be enough to convince the legal system she cannot be punished for her speech.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">FILE \u2013 Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, is interviewed by the Associated Press in Rome, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia, file)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/06\/localimages\/AP26057570351184-e1781830223197.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, is interviewed by the Associated Press in Rome, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia, file)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3466858\/us-sanctions-un-palestinian-rapporteur-francesca-albanese\/\">slapped with sanctions by the State Department<\/a> in July 2025 as the Trump administration hit the International Criminal Court, an organization it claimed \u201cengaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rapporteur ended up in the administration\u2019s crosshairs due to her history of lobbying for the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the basis of war crimes in Gaza. The court ultimately issued warrants in late 2024, though they have never been carried out.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted at the time that Albanese \u201cdirectly engaged with the International Criminal Court in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries.\u201d He further accused her of \u201cunabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese claims these punitive measures had a catastrophic effect on her family \u2014 freezing them out of banking systems, restricting travel, and complicating her ability to even pay normal bills. Her husband, Massimiliano Cali, appealed the decision on behalf of their minor daughter, who was born in the U.S. and is therefore an American citizen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in favor of the Albanese family\u2019s request for an injunction and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov\/cgi-bin\/show_public_doc?2026cv0688-48\">ordered<\/a> the State Department to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4578171\/us-removes-sanctions-un-expert-francesca-albanese-israel\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4578171\/us-removes-sanctions-un-expert-francesca-albanese-israel\/\">remove her from their sanctions list<\/a> as the case moved to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has since overturned Leon\u2019s injunction and allowed the U.S. government to reinstate the sanctions throughout the litigation process, and the opinions issued by the court signal they might not see the First Amendment argument as valid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David Keating, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Free Speech, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>: \u201cThe courts, generally speaking, are often quite deferential to the president when it comes to foreign policy and national security. So just generally, as a rule, when you\u2019re trying to get a court to address a First Amendment issue in that context, it\u2019s much more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said it\u2019s among the most \u201cunusual\u201d First Amendment cases he has observed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s pretty unusual set of facts. I mean, they\u2019ve got a U.S. citizen daughter, but they\u2019re not living in the United States. The speech was outside the United States. It\u2019s a tough case with some difficult questions, but I think on balance the odds are probably against her succeeding,\u201d Keating said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese believes the occupation of the Palestinian territories amounts to genocide on par with the Holocaust and has previously stated that the \u201cPalestinians have no other room for dissent than violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her notoriety is largely derived from her U.N. associations. Rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the body with the authority to investigate, monitor, and report back on issues within their purview. They top their documents with the U.N. letterhead and maintain authority to intervene in human rights controversies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But they are not employees of the international body. They receive no salary and never need to answer to the U.N. command structure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hillel Neuer, executive director of the nonprofit organization U.N. Watch in Switzerland, has made it his mission to call attention to Albanese and oust her. He claims she has abused the position by turning it into a vehicle of celebrity and hysteria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHistorically, [rapporteurs] would write two reports a year, maybe issue a few press releases, and it was kind of a quiet job,\u201d Neuer told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, explaining that the age of social media \u201cchanged everything\u201d about the position. \u201cShe\u2019s tweeting every five minutes, every Hamas lie about Israel \u2026 she just repeats it. And so she\u2019s hyperactive, doing all this stuff in the name of the U.N.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom her standpoint, she benefits from the incredible imprimatur to be a U.N. expert,\u201d Neuer continued. \u201cShe can tell the world that she is the U.N. special rapporteur in Palestine. She suddenly benefits from immunity. She gets various U.N. documents that won\u2019t call her an employee, but basically call her some kind of an official. \u2026 She gets to issue press releases on the U.N. stationery and issue U.N. reports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In February, the chorus <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/un-defends-francesca-albanese-after-european-criticism\">calling for her dismissal<\/a> grew to deafening proportions after a speech at the Al Jazeera Forum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support. \u2026 We who do not control large amounts of financial capitals, algorithms, and weapons, we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy, and freedoms, the respect of fundamental freedoms is the last peaceful avenue, the last peaceful toolbox that we have to regain our freedom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was immediate backlash against characterizing Israel as the \u201ccommon enemy\u201d of humanity. Albanese later <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FranceskAlbs\/status\/2020983308818186721\">clarified on social media <\/a>that the \u201ccommon enemy\u201d she referenced was \u201cTHE SYSTEM that has enabled the genocide in Palestine,\u201d but multiple world leaders condemned the rapporteur for the comments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-nations\/\">UN SAYS VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN LEBANON HAS \u2018SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED\u2019 SINCE PEACE DEAL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese began her second term as special rapporteur in May 2025 despite concerted efforts to flag her for reconsideration and removal \u2014 including a letter from the U.S. Mission to the U.N.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She will be in the position until 2028, barring intervention by the Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Italian UN expert in Tunisia faces unusual First Amendment case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2615995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26057570351184-e1781830223197.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[68862,33332,32311,32285,81427],"class_list":["post-2615994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-albanese","tag-first-amendment","tag-free-speech","tag-legal-case","tag-un-rapporteur"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26057570351184-e1781830223197.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2615994"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2615998,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615994\/revisions\/2615998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2615995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2615994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2615994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}