The TBH Desk
The United States has imposed new sanctions and visa bans on dozens of people from different countries on the occasion of the World Human Rights Day, but the list does not include the name of Bangladesh or any person from the country.
The US State Department announced a new declaration on Friday, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Foreign Minister Anthony Blicken said, this step has been taken keeping in mind the global commitment to protect human rights.
And this time, the Ministry of Finance (Department of the Treasury) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (State Department) have jointly imposed sanctions and visa restrictions. Two days before World Human Rights Day, 37 officials from 13 countries have been subject to sanctions and visa bans for alleged human rights violations.
The 13 countries subject to the new US sanctions and visa ban include China, Russia, Iran, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Liberia, South Sudan and Sudan, Syria, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Among them, 20 people from 9 countries have been sanctioned by the US Finance Ministry. These countries are Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Iran, Liberia, China, South Sudan and Uganda.
BNP and Jamaat supporters have been campaigning that US sanctions on Bangladesh are coming around December 10 World Human Rights Day. But after the list of sanctions and sanctions came out, it was found that there is no name of Bangladesh.
The 12th National Assembly election will be held on January 7. A few days before this, the US sanctions and sanctions are being discussed, the new announcement has given relief to the poll-bound Bangladesh.
The BNP-Jamaat alliance is already trying to heat up the political field of Bangladesh by using US sanctions and visa ban as a tool.
The US administration announced a new visa policy for Bangladesh last May to encourage democratic processes and elections. The United States said that those who obstruct the free, fair and impartial election process will be subject to the visa ban. The new visa policy says that if anyone from the government as well as the opposition obstructs the election process, they will also come under the ban.
But the BNP-Jamaat alliance is continuing the violent movement by boycotting the upcoming polls. They hoped that around the World Human Rights Day, the United States would impose economic pressure on the government of Bangladesh and bring about a change of power. But the leaders, supporters and workers of BNP-Jamaat are practically disappointed as that hope was not fulfilled.
The United States Ministry of Finance has said that the ban on entry of people under the sanctions to the United Kingdom and Canada has also started. These individuals cannot dispose of their assets in the United States and cannot withdraw money held in any US bank.
Apart from this, people under sanctions and sanctions cannot do any kind of business and transactions with US citizens.
Regarding the sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the sanctions reflect the United States’ commitment to ensuring accountability for human rights abuses and keeping the US financial system safe from human rights abusers.
The United States Department of Finance (Department of the Treasury) says that the United States has imposed these sanctions targeting terrorist organizations, criminal activities, suppression of LGBTQ+ individuals, international repression, environmental crimes and human rights violations related to degradation.
The ban will also be against those who violate and abuse human rights, including repression of journalists, members of civil society and those protesting injustice.
Besides, those involved in violence against civilians, arbitrary detention, abduction, gender-based violence and sexual sexual violence will also be under the ban.
The U.S. Treasury Department says the U.S. will continue to hold people accountable for human rights violations and abuses.
Iran’s top two intelligence officers are on the sanctions list. They are Majid Dastjani and Mohammad Mahdi Khanpur Ardestani. It has been said about the charges against these two officials that they were planning surveillance and attacks on various US bases in the Middle East to avenge the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020.
Several leaders of the hardline Islamist Taliban group, which rules Afghanistan, are on the sanctions list. Basically they have been accused of suppressing women, young girls and teenagers. More allegations against Taliban leaders, they are involved in murder, kidnapping, whipping and beating.
Two officials of China’s security forces are under sanctions and sanctions. They are Gao Qi and Hu Lian He. Both are middle-ranking officers of the government security forces in the northern Chinese province of Xinjiang. The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on the Uyghur Muslim minority in the province.
Two people from the country have been sanctioned for the ongoing unrest in the Central African Republic. They are Jean-Francis Boziz (Boziz) and Mahamat Saleh (Saleh).
In addition, the United States has imposed sanctions on five people from Congo for sexual violence, rape and involvement in terrorist organizations, four people from Haiti for murder and drug violence, one person in Liberia and three people in South Sudan for allegations of systematic rape and human rights violations.