[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 174-178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-29015]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 11279]
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Annual Report
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice contains the text of the report required by the
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, as submitted by the
Secretary of State.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Viglietta, Email:
[email protected], Phone: (202) 647-8836.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 10, 2020, the Secretary of State
approved the following report pursuant to the Global Magnitsky
[[Page 175]]
Human Rights Accountability Act (Pub. L. 114-328, Title XII, Subtitle
F) (``the Act''), which is implemented and built upon by Executive
Order 13818 of December 20, 2017, ``Executive Order Blocking the
Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or
Corruption'' (E.O. 13818). The text of the report follows:
Pursuant to Section 1264 of the Act, and in accordance with E.O.
13818, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Treasury, submits this report to detail the Administration's
implementation of the Act in 2020.
In 2020, the United States took significant action under the Global
Magnitsky sanctions program (``Global Magnitsky''). As of December 10,
2020, the United States has designated 243 foreign persons (individuals
and entities) pursuant to E.O. 13818. This sanctions program, which
targets serious human rights abusers, corrupt actors, and their
enablers, represents the best of the United States' values by taking
impactful steps to protect and promote human rights and combat
corruption around the world. Through the Act and E.O. 13818, the United
States has sought to disrupt and deter serious human rights abuse and
corruption abroad; promote accountability for those who act with
impunity; and protect, promote, and enforce longstanding international
norms alongside our partners and allies.
As the President outlined in his National Security Strategy (NSS),
liberty, free enterprise, equal justice under the law, and the dignity
of every human life are values that represent who we are as a people.
Further, the NSS states we support with our words and actions those who
live under oppressive regimes and seek freedom, individual dignity, and
the rule of law. The NSS outlines a commitment to combat global
corruption that facilitates transnational crime and terrorism and
undermines economic growth. Through Global Magnitsky, the
Administration is taking action to execute the President's vision as
described in the NSS.
Actions taken in 2020 continue to demonstrate the reach,
flexibility, and broad scope of the Global Magnitsky authorities. The
United States responded to serious human rights abuses and corruption
globally, addressing some of the most egregious behavior this tool can
attempt to disrupt and deter. These actions targeted, among other
things, serious human rights abusers affecting millions of members of
Muslim minority groups in northwest China's Xinjiang province; corrupt
actors in South Sudan involved in draining the country of critical
resources; and Ugandan officials engaged in an adoption scam that
victimized Ugandan-born children. These designations clearly
demonstrate the resolve of the Administration to leverage this
important tool, when appropriate, to target individuals and entities
engaging in specified conduct.
When considering economic sanctions under Global Magnitsky, the
United States prioritizes actions that are expected to produce a
tangible and significant impact on the sanctioned persons and their
affiliates and prompt changes in behavior or disrupt the activities of
malign actors. Persons sanctioned pursuant to this authority appear on
the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) List of Specially
Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). As a result of
these actions, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned
persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control
of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Unless
authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or otherwise
exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S.
persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any
property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked
persons. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or
provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of
any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of
funds, goods or services from any such person.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary
of State and the Attorney General, imposed financial sanctions on the
following persons pursuant to E.O. 13818:
1. Taban Deng Gai: Deng Gai was designated on January 8, 2020, for
his link to serious human rights abuse, including disappearances and
killings. As First Vice President of South Sudan, Deng reportedly
arranged and directed the disappearance and deaths of human rights
lawyer Samuel Dong Luak and Sudan People's Liberation Movement--In
Opposition (SPLM-IO) member Aggrey Idry. Deng directed these actions in
order to solidify his position within President Kiir's government and
to intimidate members of the SPLM-IO.
2. Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB): The XPSB was designated
on July 9, 2020 for its involvement in serious human rights abuse,
which reportedly includes mass arbitrary detention and severe physical
abuse, among other serious abuses targeting Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim
population indigenous to Xinjiang, and members of other religious and
ethnic minority groups in the region. The XPSB, through the Integrated
Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), uses digital surveillance systems to
track Uyghurs' movements and activities, to include surveilling who
they interact with and what they read. In turn, IJOP uses this data to
determine which persons could be potential threats; according to
reports, some of these individuals are subsequently detained and sent
to detention camps, being held indefinitely without charges or trial.
3. Chen Quanguo: Chen was designated on July 9, 2020 for his
connection to serious human rights abuse against members of religious
and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang. Chen is the Party Secretary of
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a position he was appointed to
in 2016, following Chen's notorious history of intensifying security
operations in the Tibetan Autonomous Region to tighten control over the
Tibetan ethnic minorities.
4. Huo Liujun: Huo was designated on July 9, 2020 for his
connection to serious human rights abuse against members of religious
and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang. Huo was the former Party
Secretary of the XPSB from at least March 2017 to 2018.
5. Wang Mingshan: Wang was designated on July 9, 2020 for his
connection to serious human rights abuse against members of religious
and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang. Wang has been the leader of the
XPSB since at least May 2018.
6. Zhu Hailun: Zhu was designated on July 9, 2020 for his
connection to serious human rights abuse against members of religious
and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang. Zhu, former Deputy Party
Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), held several
positions in the Chinese Communist Party, prior to holding the position
of Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Political and Legal Committee (XPLC)
from 2016 to 2019. In this role, Zhu was responsible for maintaining
internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR; while Zhu left this
role in 2019, he still currently serves as the Deputy Secretary of
Xinjiang's People's Congress, a regional legislative body.
7. Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC): The XPCC was
designated on July 31, 2020 for its connection to serious human rights
abuse against members of religious and ethnic minority groups in
Xinjiang. The XPCC is a paramilitary organization in the XUAR that is
subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party. The XPCC enhances internal
control over the
[[Page 176]]
region by advancing China's vision of economic development in the XUAR
that emphasizes subordination to central planning and resource
extraction. Chen Quanguo is the First Political Commissar of the XPCC,
a role in which he has exercised control over the entity.
8. Sun Jinlong: Sun was designated on July 31, 2020 in connection
with serious human rights abuse against members of religious and ethnic
minority groups in Xinjiang. Sun is the former Party Secretary of the
XPCC.
9. Peng Jiarui: Peng was designated on July 31, 2020 in connection
with serious human rights abuse against members of religious and ethnic
minority groups in Xinjiang. Peng is the Deputy Party Secretary and
Commander of the XPCC.
10. Moses Mukiibi: Mukiibi was designated on August 17, 2020 for
his involvement in corruption in Uganda. Mukiibi, a Ugandan judge,
participated in a scheme whereby, in certain instances, young children
were removed from Ugandan families under promises for ``special
education'' programs and study in the United States, and were
subsequently offered to U.S. families for adoption. Members of this
scheme facilitated multiple bribes to Ugandan judge Mukiibi, and other
Ugandan government officials, either directly or through an
interlocutor.
11. Wilson Musalu Musene: Musene was designated on August 17, 2020
for his involvement in corruption in Uganda. Musene, a Ugandan judge,
participated in a scheme whereby, in certain instances, young children
were removed from Ugandan families under promises for ``special
education'' programs and study in the United States, and were
subsequently offered to U.S. families for adoption. Members of this
scheme negotiated with Musene a flat fee for processing adoption cases.
In at least one case, a member of the scheme met directly with Musene
to arrange an additional amount of money required for Musene to
expedite the date of a pending adoption case on Musene's court
calendar.
12. Dorah Mirembe: Mirembe was designated on August 17, 2020 for
her role in providing support to corruption. Mirembe, a Ugandan lawyer,
participated in a scheme whereby, in certain instances, young children
were removed from Ugandan families under promises for ``special
education'' programs and study in the United States, and were
subsequently offered to U.S. families for adoption. The adoption agency
organizing the scheme used Mirembe's law firm to handle the legal
aspects of the adoptions, in some cases through the manipulation or
falsification of court documents.
13. Patrick Ecobu: Ecobu was designated on August 17, 2020 for his
role in providing support to corruption. Ecobu, the husband of Mirembe,
participated in a scheme whereby, in certain instances, young children
were removed from Ugandan families under promises for ``special
education'' programs and study in the United States, and were
subsequently offered to U.S. families for adoption. In order to arrange
the adoption of the children, Ecobu assisted Mirembe in facilitating
multiple bribes to Ugandan judges Mukiibi, Musene, and other Ugandan
government officials, either directly or through an interlocutor.
14. Union Development Group (UDG): UDG was designated on September
15, 2020 for its involvement in corruption in Cambodia. UDG is a PRC
state-owned entity acting for or on behalf of a PRC official that, on
May 9, 2008, was granted a 99-year lease with the Cambodian government
for 36,000 hectares (approximately 90,000 acres) of land in the Koh
Kong province of Cambodia. Following the approved lease, UDG began to
develop the $3.8 billion Dara Sakor project, ostensibly to be used as a
tourism development. UDG, through Kun Kim, a senior Cambodian general
previously designated under E.O. 13818, used Cambodian military forces
to intimidate local villagers and to clear out land necessary for UDG
to build the Dara Sakor project. Kim was instrumental in the UDG
development and reaped significant financial benefit from his
relationships with UDG.
15. Nabah Ltd: Nabah was designated on September 15, 2020 for its
role in providing support to Ashraf Seed Ahmed Al-Cardinal, who was
previously designated on October 11, 2019, for his involvement in
bribery, kickbacks and procurement fraud with senior government
officials. Nabah is owned or controlled by Al-Cardinal. Al-Cardinal
himself was part of a sanctions evasion scheme in which a senior South
Sudanese official used a bank account in the name of one of Al-
Cardinal's companies to store his personal funds in an attempt to avoid
the effects of U.S. sanctions.
16. Zineb Souma Yahya Jammeh: Zineb was designated on September 15,
2020 for her role in providing support to Yahya Jammeh, the former
President of The Gambia who was sanctioned on December 21, 2017 for his
long history of engaging in human rights abuses and corruption. Zineb
is the former First Lady of The Gambia and the current wife of Jammeh.
Zineb has reportedly been instrumental in aiding and abetting Jammeh's
economic crimes against The Gambia. She is also believed to be in
charge of most of Jammeh's assets around the world, and utilized a
charitable foundation as cover to facilitate the illicit transfer of
funds to her husband.
17. Gibran Bassil: Bassil was designated on November 6, 2020 for
his involvement in corruption in Lebanon. Bassil has held several high-
level posts in the Lebanese government, including serving as the
Minister of Telecommunications, the Minister of Energy and Water, and
the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, and Bassil has been
marked by significant allegations of corruption. In 2017, Bassil
strengthened his political base by appointing friends to positions and
purchasing other forms of influence within Lebanese political circles.
In 2014, while Minister of Energy, Bassil was involved in approving
several projects that would have steered Lebanese government funds to
individuals close to him through a group of front companies.
18. Mohamed al-Kani: Al-Kani was designated on November 25, 2020
for being the leader of the Kaniyat Militia in Libya, which over
several years gained control over the city of Tarhouna, Libya, while
detaining, torturing, and murdering civilians. In April 2019, the
Kaniyat militia changed allegiances from Libya's recognized Government
of National Accord (GNA), to the self-styled Libyan National Army
(LNA), providing the LNA a foothold near Tripoli during its offensive
against the Libyan capital. In June 2020, following a de facto truce,
GNA-aligned forces re-entered Tarhouna and discovered at least 11 mass
graves containing the bodies of civilians previously detained by the
Kaniyat militia, including women, children, and elderly. Some of the
deceased appeared to have been tortured, burned, or buried alive. The
Kaniyat militia is also responsible for hundreds of summary executions
at Tarhouna prison, numerous forced disappearances, and the
displacement of entire families from Tarhouna. OFAC also designated the
Kaniyat Militia for being responsible for or complicit in, or for
having directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.
19. Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman: Sherman was designated on
December 9, 2020 for his involvement in corruption in Liberia. A
prominent lawyer, Liberian senator, and Chair of the Liberian Senate
Judiciary Committee, Sherman was indicted in 2016 by the Liberian
government, along
[[Page 177]]
with several other government officials, for his involvement in a
bribery scheme. Sherman offered bribes to multiple judges associated
with his trial, has routinely paid judges to decide cases in his favor,
and has allegedly facilitated payments to Liberian politicians to
support impeachment of a judge who has ruled against him. Sherman's
acts of bribery demonstrate a larger pattern of behavior to exercise
influence over the Liberian judiciary and the Ministry of Justice.
20. Raimbek Matraimov: Matraimov was designated on December 9, 2020
for his involvement in corruption in the Kyrgyz Republic. A former
deputy of the Kyrgyz Customs Service, Matraimov was involved in a
customs scheme in which at least USD 700 million was laundered from the
Kyrgyz Republic. The scheme involved a company and their evasion of
customs fees. Matraimov used his position to ensure that the company's
goods would be able to seamlessly pass through the borders of the
Kyrgyz Republic and was in charge of collecting and distributing bribes
that came from this company, among other things. Matraimov, utilizing
his former position as deputy of the Kyrgyz Customs Service, made
hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of his involvement in the
customs scheme.
21. Wan Kuok Koi: Koi was designated on December 9, 2020 for his
involvement in corruption in Southeast Asia. Koi is a member of the
Communist Party of China's (CCP) Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference, and is a leader of the 14K Triad, one of the
largest Chinese organized criminal organizations in the world that
engages in drug trafficking, illegal gambling, racketeering, human
trafficking, and a range of other criminal activities. In addition to
bribery, corruption and graft, the 14K Triad has engaged in similar
illicit activities in Palau. OFAC also designated three entities that
are owned or controlled by Koi.
22. Jimmy Cherizier: Cherizier was designated on December 10, 2020
for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Haiti. While
serving as an officer in the Haitian National Police (HNP), Cherizier
planned and participated in the November 2018 deadly attack against
civilians in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood known as La Saline. During
this attack, at least 71 people were killed, over 400 houses were
destroyed, and at least seven women were raped by armed gangs.
Throughout 2018 and 2019, Cherizier led armed groups in coordinated,
brutal attacks in Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Most recently, in May
2020, Cherizier led armed gangs in a five-day attack in multiple Port-
au-Prince neighborhoods in which civilians were killed and houses were
set on fire. Cherizier is now one of Haiti's most influential gang
leaders and leads an alliance of nine Haitian gangs known as the ``G9
alliance.''
23. Fednel Monchery: Monchery was designated on December 10, 2020
for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Haiti. Monchery
was the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior and Local
Authorities and, while serving in this role, participated in the
planning of La Saline. Monchery supplied weapons and state vehicles to
members of armed gangs who perpetrated the attack. Monchery also
attended a meeting during which La Saline was planned and where weapons
were distributed to the perpetrators of the attack.
24. Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan: Duplan was designated on December
10, 2020 for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Haiti.
Duplan, who was Haitian President Jovenal Mo[iuml]se's Departmental
Delegate at the time of La Saline, is accused of being the
``intellectual architect'' and was seen discussing the attack with
armed gang members in the La Saline neighborhood during the violence.
Duplan provided firearms and HNP uniforms to armed gang members who
participated in the killings.
25. Sultan Zabin: Zabin was designated on December 10, 2020 for his
involvement in serious human rights abuse in Yemen. As the current
Director of the Sana'a-based Criminal Investigation Department (CID),
Zabin and his CID officers have arrested, detained, and tortured women
under the pretense of a policy designed to curb prostitution and
organized crime. In reality, this policy was used to target politically
active women who opposed the Houthis, and resulted in numerous reported
cases of illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance,
sexual violence, rape, torture, and other cruel treatment utilized by
the Sana'a CID against these women.
26. Abdul-Hakim Al-Khaiwani: Khaiwani was designated on December
10, 2020 for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Yemen. As
a Houthi member and Deputy Minister of the Interior, Khaiwani was
responsible for many detention facilities and security forces,
including the Sana'a CID. The illegal arrest, detention, and torture of
women conducted by the CID was done so under the ultimate authority of
the Ministry of Interior. Khaiwani currently serves as the Director of
the Security and Intelligence Service, Yemen's new security and
intelligence agency.
27. Abdul Rahab Jarfan: Jarfan was designated on December 10, 2020
for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Yemen. Jarfan is a
Houthi member and the former Head of Yemen's National Security Bureau
(NSB). Under Jarfan, the NSB systematically engaged in torture and
abusive detention of Yemeni citizens.
28. Motlaq Amer al-Marrani: Al-Marrani was designated on December
10, 2020 for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Yemen.
During his tenure as a leader or official of the NSB, Marrani oversaw
detainees of the NSB, who were reportedly subjected to torture and
other mistreatment by members of the NSB while detained. In addition,
Marrani played a significant role in the arrest, detention, and ill
treatment of humanitarian workers and other authorities working on
humanitarian assistance and was also found to have abused his authority
and influence over humanitarian access as leverage to generate personal
profit.
29. Qader al-Shami: Shami was designated on December 10, 2020 for
his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Yemen. Shami is the
former director of Yemen's Political Security Organization (PSO). Since
late 2014, the PSO has been responsible for the regular practice of
illegal detention and torture of prisoners, including children. PSO
officials were found to have been keeping detainees in undisclosed
locations, subjecting them to torture, and not allowing them to
communicate with their families, depriving them of their fundamental
liberties. Al-Shami currently serves as the Deputy Director of the
Security and Intelligence Bureau, a role he has occupied since the
organization's inception in September 2019.
30. Ramzan Kadyrov: Kadyrov was designated on December 10, 2020 for
his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Russia. Kadyrov is the
Head of the Chechen Republic and the leader of an organization, the
Kadyrovtsy, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in,
serious human rights abuses. Kadyrov and the forces he commands,
commonly known as the Kadyrovtsy, are implicated in the murder of Boris
Nemtsov, an opposition politician to Russian President Vladimir Putin,
and other serious violations of human rights. In addition to Kadyrov,
OFAC is designating six companies registered in Russia that continue to
provide Kadyrov pride and significant profit.
31. Vakhit Usmayev: Usmayev was designated on December 10, 2020 for
his
[[Page 178]]
involvement in serious human rights abuse in Russia. Usmayev, the
Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, has acted or purported to act for or
on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
32. Timur Dugazaev: Dugazaev was designated on December 10, 2020
for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Russia. A
representative of Kadyrov in Europe, Dugazaev has acted or purported to
act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
33. Ziyad Sabsabi: Sabsabi was designated on December 10, 2020 for
his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Russia. A
representative of Kadyrov, Sabsabi has acted or purported to act for or
on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
34. Daniil Vasilievich Martynov: Martynov was designated on
December 10, 2020 for his involvement in serious human rights abuse in
Russia. A personal security advisor for Kadyrov, Martynov has acted or
purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
35. Satish Seemar: Seemar was designated on December 10, 2020 for
his involvement in serious human rights abuse in Russia. A horse
trainer for Kadyrov, Seemar has materially assisted, sponsored, or
provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods
and services to or in support of, Kadyrov.
Visa Restrictions Imposed
Although no visa restrictions were imposed under the Act during
2020, persons designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 shall be subject to the
visa restrictions articulated in section 2, unless an exception
applies. Section 2 provides that the entry of persons designated under
section 1 of the order is suspended pursuant to Presidential
Proclamation 8693. In 2020, the State Department also applied, when
appropriate, visa restrictions on foreign persons involved in
significant corruption or gross violation of human rights under other
authorities, reported to Congress through other means. As appropriate,
the Department of State will take additional action to impose visa
restrictions on those responsible for certain human rights violations
and significant corruption pursuant to other authorities, including
Presidential Proclamations 7750 and 8697, and Section 7031(c) of the
FY2020 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs,
as carried forward by the FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021.
In addition, section 212(a)(3)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act renders aliens ineligible for visas if a consular officer has
reason to believe that they participated in acts of genocide, torture
or extrajudicial killings.
Efforts To Encourage Governments of Other Countries To Impose Sanctions
Similar to Those Authorized by the Act
In 2020, the Administration continued its successful outreach
campaign to international partners regarding the expansion of domestic
and multilateral anticorruption and human rights sanctions regimes.
Following support by the Departments of State and the Treasury over the
course of 2018-2019 to deliver expertise on the underpinnings of the
Global Magnitsky sanctions program, the United Kingdom established a
Global Human Rights (GHR) sanctions regime pursuant to its Sanctions
and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 on July 6, 2020. In February 2020,
the Departments of State and the Treasury formed a technical delegation
to brief Australian partners at the invitation of Parliament, which
initiated an inquiry into whether Australia should adopt a human
rights-based sanctions regime. The Administration also welcomed the
European Union's adoption of its global human rights sanctions
framework on December 7, 2020. Over the last year, the Administration
has worked closely with the Canadian and British governments in
pursuing coordinated actions against human rights abusers and corrupt
actors. Throughout this and future outreach, the Administration has
identified champions, partners, and potential spoilers of the
objectives established by Congress within the Act. The Departments of
State and the Treasury have, over the last year, shared information,
coordinated messaging, and provided technical assistance to this end.
The Administration will continue to seek out additional allies and
partners to jointly leverage all tools at our disposal to deny access
to the U.S. and international financial systems to all those who engage
in serious human rights abuses and corruption.
Dated: December 23, 2020.
David Hale,
Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2020-29015 Filed 12-31-20; 8:45 am]
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