Committee to Protect Journalists’ Post

🇺🇳 🇮🇷 UN experts condemn US sanctions for violating Iranians' human rights 🖥 https://lnkd.in/e-rhHY2j In December 2022, United Nations experts wrote a letter to the United States government, emphasizing that its illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran violate the human rights of the Iranian people, calling for them to “be eased or lifted completely.” Source: Geopolitical Economy Report #gipri #sanctions #unilateralsanctions #unilateralcoercivemeasures #sanctionskill #sanctionskillpeople #humanrights #internationallaw #unitednations #iran

In September, Human Rights First formally recommended Global Magnitsky and Section 7031c sanctions against Salvadoran officials for serious human rights abuses in El Salvador’s ongoing state of emergency. In our recent blog post, Amanda Strayer and I discuss why the situation in El Salvador demands a sanctions response from the U.S. Government. You can read the blog post here: https://lnkd.in/e_MA5rEa

Last year, on October 10, 2023, the Facts and Norms Institute (FNI) initiated a collaboration with the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. The Institute then submitted detailed feedback on a draft tool designed for assessing the human rights impacts of unilateral sanctions. This initiative aimed to deepen the understanding of sanctions' multifaceted impacts, emphasizing inclusivity and the consideration of vulnerable groups. The constructive feedback was well-received, highlighting FNI's expertise and commitment to advancing human rights considerations within international policy frameworks. Subsequently, FNI was invited to a pivotal UN consultation on November 7, 2023, focusing on developing guiding principles concerning unilateral sanctions, over-compliance, and their intersection with human rights. After the meeting, the UN Special Rapporteur invited further written comments on a draft document currently referred to as the Guiding Principles on Overcompliance and Human Rights. The draft document aims to address the complexities surrounding sanctions over-compliance and its repercussions on human rights and humanitarian action. In adherence to the extended invitation, the Facts and Norms Institute (FNI) met the deadline of November 27, 2023, by submitting comprehensive additional feedback on the draft document. Prepared by researcher Leonel Lisboa, the new submission underscored FNI's continued commitment to contributing to the United Nations' efforts in refining policies and guidelines that meticulously consider the human rights implications of unilateral sanctions and over-compliance. https://lnkd.in/dvBWM3R9

EU sanctions target individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights #abuses #worldwide, including #torture and systematic and widespread sexual and gender-based #violence. Sanctions within this framework target, for example: individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations and abuses worldwide, including in Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar/Burma, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan and Syria individuals and entities linked to the Wagner Group, in view of the international dimension and gravity of the group’s activities #Russian individuals and entities linked to Alexei Navalny’s death extremist #Israeli #settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem responsible for serious human rights #abuses against Palestinians violent Israeli activists #blocking #humanitarian #aid to Gaza Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in response to the widespread sexual and gender-based violence committed during the terrorist attacks of October 2023 The #sanctions target 117 #individuals and 33 #entities and were last extended until 8 December 2024.

New publication is now available at JPR. We identify how normative concerns, instrumental goals, and the trade-off between the two underlie public support for economic sanctions against countries that violate human rights. https://lnkd.in/d3Gc_6VY

Today, we joined Human Rights First and 94 leading human rights and anticorruption NGOs in calling on the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of State to reverse the declining use of Global Magnitsky sanctions and act on dozens of outstanding civil society recommendations. #humanrights #sanctions #globalmagnitsky #civilsociety https://lnkd.in/gpw_TF-U

Human Rights First and 95 leading human rights and anticorruption NGOS called on the Department of Treasury and the State Department to reverse the declining use of Global Magnitsky sanctions and act on dozens of outstanding civil society recommendations. https://lnkd.in/gpw_TF-U #humanrights #corruption #goodgovernance #civilsociety

📣 Council gives final approval to introduce criminal offenses and penalties for EU sanctions’ violation 📜 On April 12, 2024, the Council approved a law establishing EU-wide criminal penalties for violating or circumventing EU sanctions within member states. 📌 Actions such as evading travel bans or trading in sanctioned goods are now criminal offenses. Penalties include fines and prison sentences, especially for intentional violations. Legal entities, like companies, can also be held accountable. ✅ The directive becomes effective upon publication in the Official Journal of the EU, with member states given 12 months to integrate it into national laws. This aims to bolster enforcement against sanctions circumvention, notably in response to Russian aggression against Ukraine. Original source 👉: https://lnkd.in/dhURTcHy #EUsanctions #sanctionsupdate #sanctionscompliance #EUlaw #criminalpenalties #EUregulations  #sanctionsevasion #Russianaggression #Ukrainecrisis

(...)"Leaders targeted by sanctions also have more incentive to curtail basic human rights and democratic freedoms. The use of repressive means against citizens is one way for a regime to communicate to its support base and the broader public that it remains defiant against domestic or external challenges to its authority. Even in cases where sanctions incite anti-regime protests and violence, target governments may respond to dissent using repressive means such as violent crackdowns on protests and political imprisonments. Some leaders might even use sanctions as a pretext to justify restrictions on human rights. In Cuba and Iran for example, leaders paint sanctions as an infringement of their sovereignty and national integrity and defend the suppression of domestic dissent under the pretence of maintaining domestic unity. In some cases, sanctions can also contribute to the deterioration of human rights in target countries by undermining the state’s ability and willingness to monitor and screen its bureaucratic agents. Since target leaders operate with fewer resources under sanctions, they might change spending priorities at the expense of certain government programs. This can include budget cuts to the oversight capabilities of security, police, and other bureaucratic agencies. Left unmonitored, it is more likely that security and police forces will commit human rights abuses such as torture or the use of excessive force against peaceful demonstrators. Sanctions are often considered to be a non-violent and relatively peaceful tool. The track record suggests that they are likely to do more harm than good when it comes to human rights conditions in target countries. From a policy standpoint, sanctioning states should ensure that human suffering and other adverse effects of sanctions do not outweigh the intended political gains. Given the relatively low success rate of sanctions in attaining their objectives, it is even more imperative for policymakers to consider the possible human rights impact of sanctions. While sanctions might be construed as a lesser evil, it is still the policymakers’ responsibility to design sanction regimes that minimize harm to civilians and prevent long-lasting economic dislocation and political instability. In cases where sanctions have been in place for years with no desired change in target regime behavior, policymakers should consider lifting them to minimize the sanctions-induced instability and civilian harm". #economicsanctions #conflict #humanrights #leadership #politics 

The Regavim Movement responds to reports that the EU may sanction its activities: The EU has jumped on the anti-democratic freight train that pulled out of the station in Washington D.C. several weeks ago with the first round of unprecedented, draconian, anti-democratic sanctions against Israeli civil society organizations. The use of opaque and extra-legal tools to stifle lawful and legitimate protest was soon imitated by other Western governments, with no consideration of the far-reaching consequences for democracies everywhere. The subsequent waves of sanctions abandoned the pretext of the first batch of sanctions, “settler violence,” and now unabashedly targeted the leadership of the settlement enterprise. Should the EU issue sanctions against Regavim, a policy and research think tank that has been at the forefront of legal and legislative activism in support of Zionist public policy, the ramifications for Israel’s democracy, judiciary, legislature and sovereignty will be profound. Let us all hope that the EU will think twice before criminalizing Zionism and overtaking the Israeli judicial and law enforcement systems.