The United Kingdom announced coordinated sanctions with the United States and Canada on Friday targeting human rights abusers, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights on December 10.
The British Foreign Office thus unveiled 46 sanctions, including asset freezes and bans on entry and stay on British soil, in two parts.
The first targets nine people and five entities for their involvement in human trafficking in Cambodia, Laos and Burma. Their victims are held and forced to work in online scam centers, to extract money from their compatriots.
“The victims were promised well-paid jobs but are subject to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” according to a statement from British diplomacy. According to the UN, 120,000 people are forced to work in Burma.
The second tier of sanctions targets individuals linked to governments, justice systems and authorities in Belarus, Haiti, Iran and Syria “for their involvement in the repression of nationals who simply exercised their fundamental freedoms in these countries”.
“We will not tolerate criminal and oppressive regimes trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms of ordinary people across the world,” said British Foreign Minister David Cameron, quoted in the press release.
“Seventy-five years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Kingdom and (its) allies will continue to relentlessly pursue those who deprive people of their freedom,” he added.
