THE EU AND US GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS SANCTION REGIMES: Useful Complementary Instruments to Advance Protection of Universal Values? A Legal Appraisal

This chapter examines legal aspects of Global Human Rights Sanction programmes enacted by the US and the EU to counter human rights abuses. Major differences between the EU and US legal regimes are identified as well as the way they were enacted in the practice. After discussing criticism addressed against the two sanction regimes, an assessment is made of whether these legal instruments contribute to promote respect for human rights. The EU has been far more selective in using restrictive measures than the US in the case of human rights breaches. In contrast to the US Global Magnitsky Programmes, the EU scheme can be considered residual with respect to third country sanctions regimes. While the deterrent effect has been overall modest, the EU Global Human Rights Sanction Regime has been a useful signalling instrument in the following situations: (a) to react to gross violations of human rights when there are no third country specific sanctions regimes; (b) when a member of the UNSC with veto power is responsible for these breaches (as in the case of China and Russia). The two Global Human Rights Sanction programmes are useful legal instruments that complement other diplomatic tools used by the US and EU to reinforce respect of human rights.