A group of Republican senators introduced legislation last week that seeks to reauthorize the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for 12 years, until December 31, 2034.
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), and John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced S. 3924 to reauthorize the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which became law in 2016.
The legislation provides the President of the United States with authority to leverage economic sanctions against any party responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights against human rights defenders or individuals exposing government corruption. The current authorization is slated to expire in December 2022.
“Over the past six years, Global Magnitsky sanctions have been an invaluable tool used by our government to protect the vulnerable and punish bad actors who pose a threat to global peace and security,” said Rubio, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and ranking member of the Subcommittee responsible for human rights issues. “This carefully crafted and bipartisan law empowered two different administrations to hold human rights violators accountable. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this crucial reauthorization.”