Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act: Human Rights Violations

Thursday 27th June 2019 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

I am today laying before Parliament a report, “Report on Regulations Made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 in Relation to Gross Human Rights Violations”, as required by section 32 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

The report details the 17 regulations laid under section 1 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 during the reporting period from 23 May 2018 to 22 May 2019, including seven regulations which state a relevant human rights purpose. In this time, the Government prioritised preparation on sanctions for a no-deal exit, specifically on making the necessary secondary legislation to carry over existing EU sanctions into UK law on exit day.

We have also included information on additional actions the Government have taken related to human rights sanctions. I can confirm to the House that HMG are actively considering establishing a UK autonomous human rights sanctions regime. Whilst the UK continues to be a member of the EU or during the implementation period, EU sanctions will apply in the UK, including those regimes which have a human rights element. We will look to use the powers provided by the Sanctions Act to the fullest extent possible during this period, but there are some limitations on the measures that we can impose autonomously.

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