‘The establishment of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime is a landmark initiative to underscore the EU’s determination to enhance its role in addressing serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide.’ These words were spoken by Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, following the launch of the latest tool in the EU toolbox. But what could this mean, in practice, for freedom of religion or belief?
What exactly is the new EU tool?
On 7 December 2020 the EU officially approved the creation of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
The mechanism allows the European bloc to impose EU-wide travel bans on individuals and entities who have committed or been associated with serious human rights violations, freeze their assets and prohibit the availability of funds to them.
The sanctions regime can be used to target people who have committed human rights abuses while working on behalf of their governments, as well as unaffiliated individuals. What is more, individuals and groups can be targeted, irrespective of where they are in the world and where their crimes were committed.
There are similar mechanisms already in place in the US, Canada and the UK. The EU Member States arrived at a relatively rapid consensus regarding the creation of the mechanism. This is particularly encouraging given that the bloc has recently struggled with repeated internal disagreements and vetoes.
What could it mean for freedom of religion or belief?
Since the mechanism allows for the targeting of specific individuals responsible for human rights violations, this could have significant implications for many of the countries we work on.
The US Magnitsky Act – on which the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime is modelled – has been used, for example, to impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations in China’s Uyghur region, where up to three million Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups have been placed in ‘re-education camps’. Inside the camps conditions are dangerously unsanitary and overcrowded; detainees are subject to beatings, sleep deprivation, forced medication and solitary confinement.
The UK has used its own sanctions regime to target, among others, high-ranking military generals from Myanmar/Burma involved in the systematic violence against the Rohingya people and other ethnic minorities; as well as two organisations involved in the forced labour, torture and murder taking place in North Korea’s gulags.
As EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Mr Borrell acknowledged, ‘Sanctions alone cannot prevent or end all human rights violations and abuses. They are intended to change an actor’s behaviour and serve as a deterrent to serious human rights violations.’
Freezing a perpetrator’s accounts and preventing them from travelling where they wish will certainly make it much more difficult for them to continue their abuses. And, the EU hopes, the threat of the sanctions will in itself serve as a deterrent and encourage potential perpetrators to reconsider their actions.
Additionally, the EU scheme could pave the way for greater information-sharing and stronger co-operation on human rights with other countries, such as the UK, US and Canada.
Where does CSW’s work fit in with this?
The sanctions regime has been approved for the next three years, after which time it will be reassessed by the EU institutional bodies. Until then, the sanctions list will be reviewed annually.
Crucially, however, as with other sanctions regimes, the EU equivalent is lacking one critical component. There is currently no mechanism by which civil society – that is, NGOs like CSW – can formally engage in both the consultation and review of the sanctions. This input is vital so that we can give a voice to those on the ground, who will also be affected by the sanctions.
At the launch event, in response to a question from CSW, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights said that he is ‘very open to a discussion and consultation with civil society, but that ultimately the implementation of a civil society appeals mechanism rests with the Member States’.
If the EU and its Members are determined to uphold their human rights commitments, then the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime must include a civil society appeals mechanism.
>> Pray that the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime will make a real difference for people who suffer injustice for their faith or beliefs.