Due to human rights violations: US imposes new sanctions against China and North Korea

Friday, December 10, 2021

Due to human rights violations
The United States has imposed new sanctions on China and North Korea

On International Human Rights Day, the United States has imposed sanctions on a number of countries. As China continues to abuse Uyghurs in prison camps, the “brutal repression” of riots in Myanmar continues. The United States now wants to “hold criminals accountable.”

The United States has imposed new sanctions on China and North Korea. The U.S. Treasury Department has announced that two leading politicians and a company have been convicted of human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang province. They are run by Ergon Dunias, the governor of the autonomous region, and his predecessor, Shorat Zakir, and the Senseime group, which uses facial recognition software by police in Xinjiang.

In Xinjiang, more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities were arrested during the reigns of Zakir and Dunias, the finance ministry said. The goal of the Chinese authorities is to “create a police state through arrests and data control monitoring in the Xinjiang region.” Zakir headed the autonomous region from 2018 to 2021, then was replaced by Dunias, who has been deputy governor since 2008.

According to human rights organizations, Uighurs and other Muslims in detention camps in Xinjiang are forced to abandon their religion, culture and language, and in some cases are physically abused. The Chinese government is talking about “educational centers” that will help combat Islamic extremism.

International Human Rights Day

On International Human Rights Day, the United States also imposed sanctions on companies and individuals affiliated with the North Korean animation film studio SEK & Company. The United States has accused Disney of violating animation studios involved in productions such as “Pocahontas” and “The Lion King”. US sanctions have also been imposed on North Korean Defense Minister Ri Yong-gil.

Further U.S. criminal proceedings were instituted against four regional government officials in Myanmar. They have been accused of participating in the “brutal suppression” of protests in the Southeast Asian country following the February coup.

The U.S. State Department also announced sanctions against twelve government officials from China, Uganda, Belarus, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Mexico. They were charged with “grave human rights violations”. “We are committed to putting human rights at the center of our foreign policy,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blingen. Its purpose is to draw attention to human rights violations and to hold those responsible accountable.