Sanctions should not hinder the delivery of virus-fighting supplies to countries in need, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said April 3. Borrell said both the European Union and United Nations sanctions list humanitarian exemptions, stressing that the EU will “ensure that these sanctions do not obstruct the global fight against COVID-19.” But he also said sanctions “continue to play an indispensable role in countering breaches of international law.” Borrell said the EU “encourages other jurisdictions” to clarify that their sanctions “are no obstacle to the global fight against the pandemic.”
The Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control’s April 6 sanctions targeted a white supremacist group and its three leaders (see 2004060050), the State Department said April 6, announcing its own designation of the Russian Imperial Movement as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The sanctions against RIM marked the “first time the United States has ever designated foreign white supremacist terrorists,” State said. The group provides paramilitary-style training to Neo-Nazis and white supremacist, the agency said.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed sanctions from an entry on the ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list, according to an April 6 notice. An asset freeze will no longer apply to Ibrahim Mohamed Khalil.
The European Union updated its sanctions regime against Yemen, according to an April 3 notice. The update clarifies what constitutes a sanctionable act and provides details relating to humanitarian exemptions.
Another United Nations official called for global sanctions to be lifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying sanctions are impacting health care systems, according to an April 3 press release. Sanctions should be removed until the virus has subsided, said Alena Douhan, a UN human rights official, adding that countries should “immediately” withdraw all trade barriers and ban tariffs, quotas and non-tariff measures. "Sanctioned countries are especially hard-hit as they cannot use their revenues to purchase imports of equipment, medicines, antiviral and food from global markets," she said. Other UN officials have issued similar statements (see 2004030020 and 2003250010).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added three Russian nationals and one Russian entity to its Specially Designated Nationals List, OFAC said in an April 6 notice. The sanctions target Denis Valiullovich Gariyev, Nikolay Nikolayevich Trushchalov, Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev and the Russian Imperial Movement. OFAC did not immediately release more information on the designations.
International sanctions should be lifted to prevent hunger crises in countries significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hilal Elver, United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, said March 31. Suspended sanctions could help Syria, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba and Zimbabwe, which are “already under stress and cannot handle the additional burden of sanctions,” Elver said. Sanctions may also be disproportionately impacting civilians in Yemen, South Sudan, Gaza and Syria, Elver said. A UN official previously called for the removal of global sectoral sanctions (see 2003250010).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the expiration date for a Venezuela-related general license, OFAC said in an April 3 notice. General License No. 13E, which replaces No. 13D (see 1910170057), authorizes certain transactions involving Nynas AB, a joint venture between biofuel producer Neste and Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela's state-run oil company. OFAC extended the expiration because Nynas is discussing with OFAC a “proposed corporate restructuring” that could “result in significant changes to Nynas AB’s ownership and control,” the notice said, and the expiration will “afford additional time to complete this engagement.” The license, which was scheduled to expire April 14, will now expire May 14.
The European Union should “move quickly” to form its sanctions regime against human rights abuses amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, members of the European Parliament said in a March 27 letter to European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell. The members said the EU “cannot forget” global human rights abuses, and stressed the importance of including the name “Magnitsky” in the sanctions legislation, similar to the U.S. and Canada. The EU began working on a human rights sanctions regime in December (see 1912100046).
The United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of the panel of experts advising the committee that oversees North Korea sanctions, the UN said March 31. The mandate, which was renewed until April 30, 2021, allows the panel to submit reports to the UN about North Korea’s compliance with international sanctions and oversee UNSC sanctions actions.