On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on December 8 the imposition of sanctions on 20 individuals from nine countries for human rights violations, including two Chinese officials involved in Xinjiang affairs.
The Chinese officials designated as human rights abusers by the U.S. Treasury Department are Gao Qi, deputy governor of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and head of the Public Security Bureau of the Ilihasak Autonomous Prefecture, and Hu Lianhe, deputy director of the Central Xinjiang Work Coordination Group Office.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that Gao Qi’s superior department, the Xinjiang Public Security Department, had previously been included in the list of designated entities, and that as deputy governor he was involved in the persecution of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz (Kirgiz) and other Muslims in Xinjiang. Repression of members of ethnic minorities. Gao Qi and his immediate family members are prohibited from entering the United States.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s statement also said that the Central Xinjiang Work Coordination Group, where Hu Lian plays, plays a core role in formulating Xinjiang policies and is directly and closely involved in the formulation and revision of the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region De-Extremization Regulations,” which are in China’s In the eyes of the government, it provides a presumptive legal basis for launching a re-education detention campaign in Xinjiang.
The sanctions announced on December 8 also target 13 individuals who have committed or condoned rape and other forms of sexual violence in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and South Sudan. A Ugandan Prison Service director has been sanctioned for torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners by members of his service.
Additionally, two Afghan Taliban officials have been designated as human rights violators linked to the suppression of the rights of women and girls. Two Iranian intelligence officers have been sanctioned for their role in cracking down on the government’s opposition and peaceful protests.
The Ministry of Finance mentioned that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, is a “landmark document that establishes human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people.”
The Declaration was drafted by representatives from all regions of the world and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948.
The Treasury Department also noted that U.S. President Joe Biden has made promoting accountability for conflict-related violence a top priority and signed a memorandum last year to strengthen the U.S. government’s use of financial, diplomatic and legal tools to combat this violence.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that the United States’ commitment to upholding human rights is solemn.
She said the sanctions announced on Dec. 8 and those implemented over the past year “underscore the seriousness of our commitment to pursuing accountability for human rights abuses and safeguarding the U.S. financial system from those who commit these evil acts.”
(This article refers to reports from Reuters.)