EU ‘Magnitsky’ to tackle human rights abusers

The Council has finally adopted a global human rights sanctions regime. The EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime should enable the EU to address serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide.

Rather than focusing on countries, the new tool will allow the EU to target individuals and entities responsible for, or involved in serious human rights violations or abuses as well as individuals and entities associated with them. It can target state and non-state actors. Perpetrators and their associates can be banned from entering the EU, their assets in the EU frozen and EU persons prohibited from making any funds and economic resources available to them.

At the press conference after the meeting of foreign ministers, the EU High Representative paid particular thanks to the Netherlands, who had pushed for this measure. 

The response from the European Parliament has been generally positive, but some regretted that corruption wasn’t included among the punishable violations and that unanimity would still be required. 

Renew Europe Group President Dacian Cioloș said: “From Belarus, to Hong Kong, from Russia to Venezuela, the EU can finally send a decisive and united response to those that attack human rights, freedom and democracy.

“We will continue, nevertheless, to try to improve this newly adopted instrument, as  the requirement of unanimity among the EU member states risks jeopardizing the swiftness of the EU’s reaction  when it comes to human rights violations.”

Hilde Vautmans MEP added: “It is a lost opportunity that corruption - which is often intrinsically linked to human rights abuses - is not included among the punishable actions and that unanimity is required to impose sanctions.”

The European People’s Party spokeswoman on human rights, Isabel Wiseler-Lima MEP said she was convinced that this mechanism will have a deterrent effect, “but I regret that the measures will require unanimity among EU countries. Still, I am convinced that this mechanism is a necessary step to combat impunity.”.

“We welcome that the EU has, from now on, its own Magnitsky Act, a longstanding call by the EPP Group. It is regrettable, however, that no agreement has been found to include corruption in the list of the punishable violations and that the member states gave up on the idea to adopt the sanctions by a qualified majority,” stressed Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP Group, Sandra Kalniete MEP.

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