The Human Rights Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) has published its report into the operation of amendments made by the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021.
The Chair of the Subcommittee, Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP, stated, 'sanctions can and do play a vital role in tackling human rights abuses, curbing serious corruption, and addressing other issues of international concern. Recent legislative developments have strengthened Australia's sanctions framework. But as this review makes clear, there are opportunities for us to have an even greater global impact through our use of autonomous sanctions.'
This report makes five recommendations aimed at strengthening Australia's autonomous sanctions framework, including that:
- sanctions decisions be accompanied by detailed reasoning
- reasons for sanctions decisions be included in the Consolidated List of sanctioned individuals and entities
- the Parliament receive an annual report on sanctions decisions taken during the previous year
- the regulations for imposing autonomous sanctions be updated to include listing criteria for all thematic areas
- a humanitarian exemption be legislated to ensure humanitarian assistance is not adversely affected by the imposition of sanctions.
The report is now available on the JSCFADT website.
