Guidance

Global Human Rights Sanctions: Information Note for NGOs and Civil Society

Published 6 July 2020

1. Introduction

The Global Human Rights (GHR) sanctions regime was established on 6 July 2020 via The Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020. The primary legislation underpinning the Regulations is the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

The GHR sanctions regime allows the UK government to impose sanctions in response to certain serious human rights violations or abuses around the world. The regime is not intended to target individual countries, but individuals or organisations involved in serious human rights violations or abuses.

The measures which can be imposed under the GHR sanctions regime are travel bans and asset freezes.

This note provides further information about the GHR sanctions regime, including its purpose and scope, and the information required in considering designations. Its aim is to support understanding of the regime for those who may wish to submit information to the FCDO concerning specific designations.

2. Purpose and scope of the GHR sanctions regime

The purpose of the GHR sanctions regime is to provide accountability for, and deter, activity that would, if it was carried out by a State, amount to a serious violation of certain human rights by that State.

The rights in questions are an individual’s:

• right to life

• right to not be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

• right to be free from slavery, not to be held under servitude or required to perform forced or compulsory labour

3. Who can be designated under the GHR sanctions regime

The GHR sanctions regime can be used to designate persons who are “involved” in the activities mentioned above.

The GHR sanctions regime allows for both State and non-State actors to be sanctioned. Although only States have obligations under international human rights law, the GHR sanctions regime also enables the designation of persons involved in activity carried out by non-State actors which, if it were carried out by or on behalf of a State, would amount to a serious human rights violation falling within the scope of the regime.

Decisions about designations will be taken on a case-by-case basis. The Government has published a policy note on factors that it is likely to take into account in considering whether someone should be designated.

A range of activity could potentially result in designation under the GHR regime. Such activity could potentially include, for example, any of the following, provided that it would amount to a serious violation of one or more of the above rights if it was carried out by or on behalf of a State:

• Rape and other forms of sexual violence, including sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion and enforced sterilization

• Enforced disappearances

• Extrajudicial killings

• Human trafficking, in so far as it constitutes slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or forced and compulsory labour

• Killings of or violence against human rights defenders, media workers, journalists, as well as violence or killings motivated on the grounds of an individual’s religion or belief

Under the regulations, a person is an “involved person” if the person:

• is responsible for or engages in a serious human rights violation or abuse that falls within the scope of the GHR sanctions regime

• facilitates, incites, promotes or provides support for such conduct;

• conceals evidence of such conduct

• provides financial services, or makes available funds, economic resources, goods or technology that could contribute to such conduct, or to a person who is responsible for or engages in such conduct

• profits financially or obtains any other benefit from such conduct

• is responsible for the investigation or prosecution of such conduct and intentionally or recklessly fails to fulfil that responsibility

• contravenes, or assists with the contravention of, the Regulations

Under the Regulations, a person is also an “involved person” if the person:

• is owned or controlled by a person who has been involved as above

• acts on behalf of or at the direction of such a person

• is a member of, or associated with, such a person

For the purpose of the GHR sanctions regime, an involved person could potentially be an individual, a corporation, organisation or any association or combination of persons.

4. Legal tests

The Regulations contain two tests that must be met before a person can be designated:

1. That there are ‘reasonable grounds to suspect’ that the person is an “involved person” (i.e. connected to the activity in one of the ways set above)

2. That designating that person would be appropriate with regards to the sanctions regime’s purposes and the likely significant effects on that person of designating them.

5. Information checklist

In considering designations, the following information is required:

1. What is the activity that justifies the application of sanctions?

Identification of activity that would amount to a serious violation of one of the three specified rights if the conduct was carried out by or on behalf of a State, namely the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the prohibition of slavery, forced or compulsory labour.

2. Who is the person?

For example, name (including any aliases), title and other identifying information

3. How, and to what extent, is the person involved in the activity?

In what way(s) is the person an “involved person” (as set out above)? For example, was the person directly responsible for or engaged in the activity, or did they facilitate or support the conduct, or conceal evidence of the activity?

Each of these elements must be sufficiently evidenced in order to demonstrate that there are ‘reasonable grounds to suspect’ that the person is an “involved person”.

6. Contact

This information note is to provide background information on the new GHR sanctions regime.

If any person or organisation nevertheless wishes to submit information to the FCDO concerning possible designations under the GHR sanctions regime they may do so to Fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk.

Please ensure that any information provided is accurate, necessary and proportionate. All reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that the information is verified or verifiable and from a trusted source, and only information relevant to the proposed designation should be provided.

Confidential information: Any information provided in the expectation that it will be treated as confidential must be marked clearly as such. However, please note that all information provided to the FCDO is subject to UK legislation. This means there may be circumstances where we nevertheless have to release information under, for example, data protection or freedom of information regimes or in the context of litigation. Therefore, please carefully consider what information is provided and any risks if that information were to be disclosed.

FCDO will be unable to provide comments, updates or feedback on proposed designations, evidence or other information that has been submitted.