The European Council approved additional restrictive measures on Monday against four individuals and two entities said to be responsible for the abuse of human rights worldwide, which includes torture and systematic and widespread sexual and gender-based violence. Because of the sanctions, imposed under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanction Regime, the four individuals are not allowed to travel to the EU anymore. Furthermore, the individuals and entities are subject to the freezing of their assets and it is prohibited for others to provide funds or economic resources directly or indirectly to them.
Among the individuals sanctioned are the Syrian Army’s chief of staff, Abdel Karim Mohammed Ibrahim, and the previous Syrian Minister of Defence, Ali Mahmoud. They are allegedly responsible for the actions of soldiers under their command who committed systematic and widespread torture, rape and violence. The United Kingdom also sanctioned both individuals in 2023.
North Korea’s Minister of State Security, Ri Chang Dae, is also sanctioned and deemed responsible for acts of sexual and gender-based violence committed by officials against women and girls who showed opposition to the regime or who were held in detention and prison centers. In 2023, the UN released a report on the situation of human rights in North Korea, concluding that gender stereotypes in the country cause discrimination against women and girls, despite the government reporting that there’s no discrimination.
The head of the penitentiary service of the Russian occupation authorities in the Kherson region, Evgeniy Sobolev, was also sanctioned because of the widespread and systematic pattern of human rights violations in detention facilities. According to Human Rights Watch, there’s evidence that Russian forces have unlawfully detained and tortured people in these facilities.
The two entities sanctioned are a Haitian gang called Kokorat San Ras and the Onsong County MSS Detention Centre located in North Korea. Kokorat San Ras is known for using violence against women as a weapon, while in the Onsong County MSS Detention Centre, torture and cruel treatment are established practices, according to the EU. In the detention centre, there have been reports of people starving, lack of hygiene, enslavement, forced abortions and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence.
With the Global Human Rights Sanction Regime, the Council has established a human rights sanctions framework with which the EU targets individuals, entities and bodies who are responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide. The measures aim to play an important role in the battle against these violations and abuses. The regime now applies to 117 individuals and 33 entities, including the ones added on Monday.
