We recently celebrated the permanent reauthorization of the Global Magnitsky Act (“GloMag”) and highlighted the instrumental role that our partner Human Rights First (HRF) played in achieving that win. Now we want to share more about our renewed grant partnership.
Based in New York and Washington, D.C., HRF aims to advance human rights around the world, including domestically. For the past several years, the Foundation has supported its efforts to develop expertise in implementing the Global Magnitsky Act. One unique aspect of this sanctions program is that it requires the U.S. government to act on cases submitted by civil society. This is where HRF comes in.
HRF has built, coordinated, and trained a sanctions coalition of nearly 300 partners – spread across nearly 50 countries – including NGO’s, law school clinics, and attorneys. The coalition advocates for Global Magnitsky sanctions to be issued and assembles robust case files for submission. In 2021, the U.S. government issued Global Magnitsky sanctions against 176 human rights abusers and corrupt actors – a record number. Of those designations, about 40% came through the coalition.
With Foundation support, over the coming year HRF will continue to strengthen the coalition, promote similar sanctions laws in other countries, and generate and share Global Magnitsky-related analysis and resources.
The partnership will directly affect several of the Foundation’s goals. First, it will advance human rights by strengthening targeted sanctions – a unique and important foreign policy tool that promotes human rights. In addition, it will empower human rights leaders by training and supporting two legal fellows and other staff at HRF and the growing coalition of NGO’s worldwide.
Human Rights First has been integral to making Global Magnitsky sanctions the effective human rights and foreign policy tool we see today. We are proud to continue our partnership with this outstanding civil society leader.