Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) use, and (2) criteria for the use, of sanctions in order to uphold international law and human rights in other countries.

We will lay secondary legislation in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 to establish the Global Human Rights ('Magnitsky-style') sanctions regime in the coming months. A global human rights sanctions regime will allow us to respond to serious human rights violations or abuses anywhere in the world. We are a global leader in the promotion and protection of human rights and we want to demonstrate that the UK can be a force for good in the world.

All designations will need to meet the legal tests as set out in the Sanctions Act, which includes ensuring designations are underpinned by robust evidence. The sanctions regime is not intended to target individual countries, but those who commit serious human rights violations or abuses anywhere in the world.