Senators Call for Preserving Magnitsky Sanctions Work at State Department
Ten Senate Democrats, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., urged the State Department to retain the staff and programs of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), whose duties include administering sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
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In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Shaheen’s office released June 16, the senators said they’re concerned that a proposal to reorganize and cut staff at DRL could harm the bureau’s ability to do its job. “Over 80% of DRL’s programs support human rights defenders working in closed, anti-democratic societies, including Cuba, China, Nicaragua, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Venezuela and others which the Trump administration has identified as adversaries of the U.S.,” the senators wrote.
They said it's "imperative that the human capital in DRL remains in DRL, both for the unique technical expertise of DRL staff and to ensure adequate compliance with the bureau’s statutory roles and responsibilities, including administration of Global Magnitsky sanctions" and other programs.
The letter is co-signed by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Chris Coons, D-Del., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Peter Welch, D-Vt.
The State Department declined to comment on the letter. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended efforts to reorganize the State Department, saying they are needed to speed up the agency’s slow decision-making process (see 2505200053).
In its latest Global Magnitsky Act annual report, released in March, the State Department described the sanctions program as “the United States' flagship foreign policy tool for promoting accountability for human rights abuse and corruption globally.” The report says the department imposed Magnitsky sanctions on 70 foreign individuals and entities last year (see 2503180003).
In a related matter, the White House told the Senate June 16 that President Donald Trump has nominated Riley Barnes to be assistant secretary of state for DRL. Barnes currently is the senior bureau official at DRL.