EU Approved a Sanctions Mechanism If Human Rights Gross Violations

The new sanctions instrument is modeled on the "Magnitsky Act" in the United States. It will facilitate the imposition of personal sanctions for gross violations of human rights. It will be easier for the European Union to punish gross violations of human rights in any country in the world. The foreign ministers of the EU countries on Monday, December 7, approved a new sanctions mechanism that allows for the introduction of personal sanctions for torture, slavery and systematic sexual violence, the press service of the EU Council reported. The guilty will be banned from entering the EU countries, their property in the European Union will be frozen. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas welcomed the new sanctions instrument. "Those who are responsible for torture and human trafficking will no longer be able to travel carefree shopping in Europe," he said. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn saw in the sanction mechanism a "warning" for Turkey, where, according to him, human rights defenders are declared terrorists and imprisoned for many years. The European Union has previously had the ability to punish specific individuals for human rights violations, but it could only do so within the framework of sanctions imposed due to crises or conflicts, such as the crisis over Ukraine, in the event of cyberattacks or the use of chemical weapons. This made it extremely difficult or impossible for the EU to respond in cases such as, for example, the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Modeled on the "Magnitsky law" The new EU sanctions mechanism is modeled on the US Magnitsky Act. The law was passed by the US Congress in 2016 to impose sanctions on individuals following the high-profile death of Russian auditor Sergey Magnitsky in a Moscow detention center. According to diplomats, the first persons involved in the new EU sanctions lists may appear as early as the first quarter of 2021. Among other things, the possibility of imposing penalties against Chinese officials involved in suppressing the democratic movement in Hong Kong is being discussed. The use of the new EU sanctions instrument in each case, however, will require the consent of all 27 EU member states.