Democracy summit spawns human rights sanctions
‘Consistent with the goals of…[the] Summit for Democracy,’ the US State Department has designated ‘multiple actors across three countries in connection with serious human rights abuse and repressive acts targeting political opponents, peaceful protestors, and other individuals’ and submitted a report ‘identifying persons who are responsible for certain gross violations of human rights in Iran.’
So said US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in advance of the Summit, which will be held on 9-10 December and hosted by US president Joe Biden, and which will ‘bring together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.’
Amongst those designated are ‘the commander of the Ugandan Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, two Syrian Air Force officers responsible for chemical weapons attacks on civilians, and three Syrian intelligence officers in Syria’s repressive security and intelligence apparatus.’
Additionally, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) has sanctioned ‘seven Iranian individuals and two Iranian law enforcement entities in connection with serious human rights abuse pursuant to EO 1355,’ and ‘[P]ursuant to Section 106 of CAATSA [the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act], the Department of State identified two entities and two individuals who are responsible for certain gross violations of internationally recognized human rights in Iran. This action under CAATSA included two prisons, the Zahedan Prison and Isfahan Central Prison, which are responsible for extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detention.’
