EU Foreign Affairs Council adopts a Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime

For the first time, the EU is equipping itself with a framework that will allow it to target individuals, entities and bodies – including state and non-state actors – responsible for, involved in or associated with serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide, no matter where they occurred.
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Such restrictive measures will provide for a travel ban applying to individuals, and the freezing of funds applying to both individuals and entities. In addition, persons and entities in the EU will be forbidden from making funds available to those listed, either directly or indirectly.

The framework for targeted restrictive measures applies to acts such as genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations or abuses (e.g. torture, slavery, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests or detentions). Other human rights violations or abuses can also fall under the scope of the sanctions regime where those violations or abuses are widespread, systematic or are otherwise of serious concern as regards the objectives of the common foreign and security policy set out in the Treaty (Article 21 TEU).

It will be for the Council, acting upon a proposal from a member state or from the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to establish, review and amend the sanctions list.

Today’s decision emphasises that the promotion and protection of human rights remain a cornerstone and priority of EU external action and reflects the EU’s determination to address serious human rights violations and abuses.

The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal.

On 9 December 2019, the Council welcomed the launch by the High Representative of preparatory work to establish an EU regime of general scope for restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses.

On 17 November 2020, the Council approved conclusions on the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024 which set out the EU’s level of ambition and priorities in this field in its relations with all third countries. In the EU Action Plan, the EU committed to developing a new horizontal EU global human rights sanctions regime to tackle serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide.

We have a very packed [Foreign Affairs] Council today. We are going to talk a lot about transatlantic relations, and [I will] present [to the Foreign Affairs Ministers] the proposal from the Commission and the High Representative about a new refreshed start of our engagement with the US.

During the lunchtime, we are going to discuss about the controversial issue of Strategic Autonomy. I think it is something that will keep us busy for quite a long time, because we need to clarify what does it mean, and the way of pushing forward something that we really need.

Then, we are [going to discuss] issues like the situation in the Caucasus, [in Georgia], in Hong Kong and Venezuela, [after] the elections [yesterday]. We already said from the beginning that the way that [the elections] were convened were not fulfilling all the democratic requirements. We could not send and observation mission. It seems that the turnout is quite low, let us see the final results, and we will deliver a statement fixing our position.

Last but not least, today we are going to approve the [EU] Global framework for Human Rights Sanctions, just one year after I started launching this procedure. It took one year, but finally it is here. Finally, we got something that will help us face human rights abuses all over the world and not country by country. I think it is an important step.

EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell hold a press conference on Monday, December 7, after a meeting of EU foreign ministers where the adoption of an EU human rights sanctions framework was set to be discussed.

The EU foreign ministers made an agreement to move forward with the establishment of a unified 'EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime' instead of the current country-by-country system at a Foreign Affairs Council session in December 2019.

Once in force, the new sanctions regime will provide the EU with greater flexibility to target those responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide, no matter where they occur or who is responsible. It is expected that the unified framework will include measures such as asset freezes and travel bans.