Human Rights Day sanctions see Dhaka irked and SenseTime IPO stalled
A slew of sanctions and an investment restriction announced by the US government on 10 December to mark International Human Rights Day has had a significant impact on several fronts, amongst them upsetting US-Bangladeshi relations, and the postponement of the IPO of Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime.
On 10 December, International Human Rights Day, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) said it was ‘designating 15 individuals and 10 entities for their connection to human rights abuse and repression in several countries around the globe, pursuant to multiple sanctions authorities,’ and (separately) ‘imposing investment restrictions on one company in connection with the surveillance technology sector of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) economy, highlighting the human rights abuse enabled by the malign use of technology.’
Amongst the designated entities are included Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (‘RAB’), which, OFAC said, had, in the pursuit of the country’s ‘war on drugs’, been subject to widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse, ‘threatening US national security interests by undermining the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh.’
It said that the mandate of the RAB, which includes seconded members of the Bangladeshi police, army, navy, air force, and border guards, extends to ‘internal security, intelligence gathering related to criminal activities, and government-directed investigations’ and is alleged, with other similar agencies, to be ‘responsible for more than 600 disappearances since 2009, nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018, and torture.’ OFAC also included senior RAB officials in its designation.
The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reports that Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador as a result of the designation.
Bad timing?
OFAC has also announced that it is identifying SenseTime Group Limited as ‘a Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Company (NS-CMIC) pursuant to E.O. 13959, as amended by E.O. 14032.’
It explained: ‘SenseTime owns or controls, directly or indirectly, a person who operates or has operated in the surveillance technology sector of the PRC’s economy. SenseTime 100 percent owns Shenzhen Sensetime Technology Co. Ltd., which has developed facial recognition programs that can determine a target’s ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs. When applying for patent applications, Shenzhen Sensetime Technology Co. Ltd. has highlighted its ability to identify Uyghurs wearing beards, sunglasses, and masks.’
By so designating it as an NS-CMIC, the US government restricts permissible transactions with US persons.
The move has forced the company to postpone a planned initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock market, while rumours of further, similar identifications have precipitated share price drops of other companies in the Chinese tech sector.
Other actions taken by OFAC on International Human Rights Day include designations of entities/individuals associated with the employment of DPRK (North Korean) labourers, who ‘contribute to the poor treatment workers endure, which can include being subjected to constant surveillance, forced to work long hours, and having a significant portion of their wages confiscated by the regime,’ and parties responsible for human rights abuses in Burma/Myanmar.
