PRESS RELEASE : UK and allies sanction human rights abusers [December 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 8 December 2023.
UK and allies have sanctioned human rights abusers 75 years after Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- UK, US and Canada lead coordinated action against human rights abusers and accessories to authoritarian governments around the world, 75 years after Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified
- UK targets forced labour operations in Southeast Asia, and government-linked officials in Belarus, Haiti, Iran, and Syria complicit in repressing individual freedoms
- these sanctions underline the UK’s continued commitment to deterring malign activity around the world
The UK, US and Canada are today announcing a sweeping package of sanctions targeting individuals linked to human rights abuses around the world, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December.
Today the UK is announcing 46 sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, in 2 categories.
The first set targets 9 individuals and 5 entities for their involvement in trafficking people in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, forcing them to work for online ‘scam farms’ which enable large-scale fraud. Victims are promised well-paid jobs but are subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The UN estimates at least 120,000 people in Myanmar alone are being forced to work for such schemes. The FCDO has helped a small number of British nationals return to the UK who had become victims.
The second is aimed at a number of individuals linked to the governments, judiciaries and prosecuting authorities of Belarus, Haiti, Iran, and Syria, for their involvement in the repression of citizens solely for exercising fundamental freedoms in those countries. This includes:
- 17 members of the Belarusian judiciary including judges, prosecutors and an investigator involved in politically-motivated cases against political activists, independent journalists and human rights defenders
- 5 individuals in the Iranian judiciary, security forces and Tehran public transport system for their involvement in imposing and enforcing the mandatory hijab law
- 8 individuals for complicity in atrocities against the Syrian people by Assad’s regime and
- 2 individuals in Haiti for their involvement in the 2018 La Saline attacks
The Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said:
We will not tolerate criminals and repressive regimes trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms of ordinary people around the world.
I am clear that 75 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UK and our allies will continue to relentlessly pursue those who would deny people their freedom.
The Home Secretary James Cleverly said:
The UK is actively rooting out all facilitators of large-scale fraud, both nationally and internationally, to protect public welfare.
Today’s announcement sends a clear warning: anyone attempting to gain from human rights abuses will be brought to justice.
