United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese

Francesca Albanese, the UN`s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, says Georgetown University`s move to end her 10-year affiliation is a fallout from US sanctions imposed for her work exposing Israel`s genocide in Gaza and US business complicity.

"Georgetown`s decision to end my 10-year-old affiliation is yet another fallout of the sanctions the US imposed on me last July for exposing Israel`s genocide and the complicity of US businesses," Albanese wrote in a post on X on Monday.

"Any other explanation is the usual laughable propaganda of the pro-genocide minions," she added.

Georgetown University has announced that it is no longer associated with Albanese, who was sanctioned by the United States earlier this year.

"Francesca Albanese is no longer affiliated with Georgetown University," Anna Maria Mayda, director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration, said.

"US institutions are prohibited by federal law from affiliating with individuals subject to US sanctions," she added.

Albanese was an affiliated scholar at Georgetown`s School of Foreign Service. That role didn`t make her a Georgetown employee, but it gave her access to school resources and certain opportunities for collaboration.

UN Watch, the Geneva-based NGO that monitors the United Nations, said earlier in the week that Georgetown University had removed Albanese from its list of affiliated scholars.

On 30 June, Albanese wrote a report naming over 60 companies, including major US technology firms such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, which she said were involved in "the transformation of Israel`s economy of occupation to an economy of genocide."

The Italian lawyer`s report was cited by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a key reason for her sanctioning by the US.

Since October 2023, the Israeli regime has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians - most of them women and children - amid widespread destruction and blockade-induced starvation.

Legal experts and rights groups warn that sanctioning investigators like Albanese sets a dangerous precedent and weakens international law at a time when accountability is urgently needed.