23 February 2015 – Dominic Raab MP and a group of 22 members of the British parliament from across all parties have submitted an amendment to the Serious Crime Bill, entitled the ‘Magnitsky Amendment’. Co-sponsors of the Magnitsky amendment include no less than seven current Committee Chairs including Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP (Home Affairs Committee), Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP (Public Accounts Committee) and Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP (Intelligence & Security Committee).

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/20142015/0160/amend/seriouscrimeaddednames.pdf

The Magnitsky Amendment will require the government to publish the names of foreign citizens who are not allowed to enter the UK due to their involvement in money laundering, serious organized crime, torture and gross human rights abuses.

The Magnitsky Amendment aims to ensure greater transparency concerning individuals who have been denied entry to the United Kingdom. It builds on the recommendation adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament in its report reviewing the government’s human rights policies, which urged the publication of names of individuals banned from entering the UK due to their involvement in the Magnitsky case.

(http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmfaff/116/116.pdf ).

The Magnitsky Amendment is also aimed to harmonize British legislation with the U.S. Magnitsky Act of 2012, which requires the US Government to publish a list of persons banned from entry to the United States because of involvement in corruption, including the corrupt criminal conspiracy uncovered by late Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, responsible for Magnitsky’s torture and death in Russian custody, and other gross human rights abuses. At the moment, the US government has named 32 individuals banned from entering the United States under the U.S. Magnitsky Act.

Explaining the Magnitsky Amendment, Esher & Walton MP Dominic Raab said:

“The British public doesn’t want the henchmen of murderers and torturers, or their bagmen, slipping through UK border controls, buying up luxury apartments in Kensington, sending their kids to public school here and generally enjoying the high life. Parliament has a chance to make sure people know who is being banned from entering Britain, ensure basic moral principle trumps expediency, and send a message that we’re an open and tolerant country – but not for those with blood on their hands or dirty money in their pockets.”

Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell QC MP, said: “This amendment would put paid to those whose serious criminal acts abroad do not prevent them from visiting the United Kingdom. It is intolerable that people whose behaviour falls so far short of a proper respect for the sanctity of life and democratic principles should be able to visit Great Britain without hindrance.”

William Browder, leader of the Magnitsky justice campaign and author of the best-selling book, ‘Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s Number One Enemy’ said, “At the moment we can’t prosecute the people who killed Sergei Magnitsky and commit other abuses in Russia because Putin protects them, but Britain shouldn’t let these people into the UK and the government should make it publicly known that they are not welcome here.”

The full list of co-sponsors of the amendment:

Dominic Raab MP
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chairman, Home Affairs Committee

Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, Chair, Intelligence & Security Committee
Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair, Public Accounts Committee
John Wittingdale MP, Chair, Culture, Media & Sport
Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, Chair, Health Committee
Charles Walker MP, Chair, Procedure Committee
David Davies MP, Chair, Welsh Affairs Committee

Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell QC MP
Sir Edward Garnier QC MP
RT Hon Norman Baker MP
Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP
Tessa Munt MP
Steve Barclay MP
Sir Peter Bottomley MP
Andrew Rosindell MP
Tim Loughton MP
Nick de Bois MP
Zac Goldsmith MP
Dr Julian Lewis MP
Dr Phillip Lee MP
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP

Sergei Magnitsky was a lawyer for the Hermitage Fund, the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia. In 2008, he uncovered how a group of Russian officials and criminals stole three investment companies from his client and $230 million they had paid in taxes to the Russian government. Russian officials exposed by Sergei Magnitsky had him arrested on false charges. He was kept in detention for 358 days and killed on 16 November 2009. Russian officials involved in his case were promoted and given state honours in Russia. In the United States, they have been sanctioned under the United States Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which denies them U.S. visa and blocks their assets in U.S. financial institutions.

The struggle for justice in Magnitsky case is described in the thriller by Bill Browder, Red Notice, which has reached No 8 on New York Times best-seller list in the first two weeks since its launch and No 9 on the Sunday Times best seller list in the UK.

Newsletter |F ebruary 2015Upcoming Conversation:

Reconciliation Post-Conflict: Approaches, Practices and Realities

Join New Tactics in Human Rights for an online conversation on Reconciliation Post-Conflict: Approaches, Practices and Realities — February 23-27, 2015.

Daily headlines around the globe portray the numerous conflicts that arise as a result of heated points of contention. Seemingly disparate ideologies, unequal distribution of resources, political, ethnic, cultural and religious differences can all be contributing factors in the emergence of conflict between groups. In the aftermath of conflict, what role can reconciliation play as a path forward; toward healing, peaceful relations, improved communication and functioning societies?

Where does the process of reconciliation begin, with whom and when? These questions and more will be discussed in New Tactics in Human Rights Conversation – Reconciliation Post-Conflict: Approaches, Practices and Realities. This online conversation will seek to identify the role of reconciliation in post-conflict environments. Practitioners will share experiences, lessons learned, approaches and challenges with the reconciliation process from the perspective of reconciliation efforts around the globe.

New Tactics is looking for practitioners with experience in this area to be Conversation Leaders. Would you or someone in your network be perfect to take part as a Conversation Leader? Contact Brent Jensen at newtactics@cvt.org

The Latest From New Tactics

Dear friend,

“Human rights are the only meaningful rampart against barbarity.”

With these words, the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, called for a renewed focus on protecting human rights during a speech he gave last week at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Essentially, if I may boil down a massive topic into one sentence, states must be willing to protect the human rights of their people, and people must be able to hold the state responsible.”

Watch a short video about the High Commissioner’s visit to the Museum.

Zeid delivered the speech at the Museum during his first official visit to the United States as High Commissioner—a role he assumed in September 2014—and at a time of expanding violence and extremism. He urged the international community not to give in to the “dark allure of hatred” but rather to “strengthen our ethics, our clarity and openness of thought, and our moral courage.”

The High Commissioner’s emphasis on education, on early warning to prevent crises from escalating, and on learning from the past to improve the future aligns with many aspects of our work at the Center for the Prevention of Genocide.

We were honored to host him for this major policy address, which serves as a call to action—when the world desperately needs to hear it—to prevent genocide and promote human dignity.

Sincerely,

Cameron Hudson
Director, Center for the Prevention of Genocide