THE DEATH OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI AND THE GROWING PROMINENCE OF GLOBAL 'MAGNITSKY LAWS' AS A MEANS OF SECURING ACCOUNTABILITY

What do the Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have in common? First and foremost, both are victims of shocking human rights violations, including torture and, ultimately, extrajudicial killing. More than this, however, both cases have helped to catalyse an important new trend in how the international community addresses such serious human rights violations, especially where they are linked to allegations of corruption. In particular, both killings are closely associated with the development and application of so-called ‘Magnitsky legislation’ – new laws in a number of Western States that, in principle, allow one State to apply targeted sanctions against individuals accused of serious human rights violations and/or corruption in another State. As URG has previously argued, the advent of these new human rights-based sanction regimes represent a revolutionary shift in the enforcement of international human rights law, with important implications for the wider international rules-based system.

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This first report explores the role of multilateral and bilateral development partners in supporting States, in particular developing States, implement the recommendations of the UN’s human rights mechanisms (Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and the Universal Periodic Review); thereby strengthening State compliance with their international human rights obligations and commitments, and (by extension) making a major contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leaving no one behind.

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FUTURE EVENTS

December 5th / 2018
Geneva
Launch of yourHRC.org report: The Human Rights Council in 2018
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January 9-10th / 2019
Tunisia
Regional workshop on ‘Lifting religion-based reservations as a means of strengthening women’s rights’
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Past EVENTS

November 5th / 2018
Geneva
High-Level Conference on 'Human Rights Council Investigative Mechanisms and Preventing Mass Atrocities'
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September 24th / 2018
Geneva
'Launch of the yourHRC.org Guide to the 2018 UN Human Rights Council Elections'
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September 5th / 2018
Geneva
'Glion V report launch and discussion'
(Public)
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THE DEATH OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI AND THE GROWING PROMINENCE OF GLOBAL 'MAGNITSKY LAWS' AS A MEANS OF SECURING ACCOUNTABILITY

LATEST Policy Reports

Global Human Rights Implementation Agenda: the role of international development partners By the URG Team

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URG Events

URG TOOLKIT

Global Human Rights Implementation Agenda: the role of international development partners

By the URG Team