Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

This motion for a resolution addresses the pressing need to enhance the European Union’s efforts to combat impunity for serious human rights violations through targeted restrictive measures. It focuses on the implementation, effectiveness, impact, and future direction of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EUGHRSR), commonly referred within the European Parliament as the EU Magnitsky Act.

Adopted in December 2020, the EUGHRSR – EU Magnitsky Act enables the EU to impose asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights abuses worldwide. Despite its significance as a foreign policy tool, the regime still faces several operational, geographical, and legal challenges that hinder its full potential.

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ChangedAs of May 2025, 154 listings (118 individuals and 36 entities) have been made under the regime. However, with the report concerns are expressed over the narrow focus of the listings – both geographically and thematically – as they tend to centercentre on certain geographical areas, and specific political and civil rights violations in authoritarian contexts, while under-addressing core international crimes and systemic socio-economic rights abuses. The gender perspective of the application of the EUGHRSR – EU Magnitsky Act is also under analysis.

The report underlines the need for a more coherent and strategic use of the sanctions regime, aligned with broader EU foreign policy objectives and other restrictive measures. It calls for an impact assessment of the regime’s effectiveness, greater alignment with international partners, improved enforcement by Member States, and enhanced transparency and accountability.

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ChangedAdditionally, the text proposes to identify avenues for improving the sanctions instruments, and measures to close implementation loopholes and prevent sanctionssanction circumvention. The report also aims to identify ways for the European Parliament and other relevant actors such as civil society organisations to contribute to the process of suggestions for listing criteria. It also reiterates its long-standing support for including anti-corruption sanctions within the EU framework.

Importantly, the draft report stresses that a review of the regime – following its prolongation until December 2026 – would provide a critical opportunity to address current shortcomings and reinforce the EU’s commitment to human rights, the rule of law, and the fight against impunity globally.