The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) has recommended that the Australian Government introduce a new human rights targeted sanctions regime.
The submission was made to the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade which is holding an ‘Inquiry into whether Australia should enact legislation to use targeted sanctions to address human rights abuses’.
The ACIJ recommends that any sanctions determination process ensures that the criminal prosecution of perpetrators of human rights violations should be Australia’s primary objective to combating impunity for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, but in circumstances where prosecution it is not likely, targeted sanctions can be a powerful tool for accountability.
The ACIJ also recommends that a sanctions determination process ensures contribution of civil society and non-government organisations; an independent committee to provide recommendations, monitoring and guidance; that the criteria of conduct applying targeted sanctions includes serious violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law and acts of significant corruption.
The introduction of a new Australian human rights sanctions regime represents a unique opportunity for Australia to protect and promote human rights globally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, by targeting human rights abusers and corrupt actors, and promoting accountability.
Read the ACIJ’s submission to the Inquiry here.
Read the evidence provided by the ACIJ at the first hearing before the sub-Committee in March here.
Supplementary Submission
The ACIJ provided a supplementary submission on 13 October 2020. Read the supplementary submission here.
Final Report of the Sub-Committee on human Rights
On 7 December 2020, the report of the Sub-committee was tabled in Parliament. Read the Sub-committee’s report, ‘Criminality, corruption and impunity: Should Australia join the Global Magnitsky movement?’ here.
