Posts Tagged ‘jackson-vanik’
Gays Are the New Jews
How should the West respond to the Russian government’s homophobic crusade? It is a question that has bedeviled activists and legislators in Europe and America since the Duma passed a law forbidding so-called “propaganda” of same-sex relationships to minors last summer. While the law is criticized as an assault on gay citizens, it is actually something much more pernicious: by forbidding speech that portrays homosexuality in a positive, never mind neutral, light, it is a fundamental abridgement of the freedoms of speech and conscience of all Russian citizens, gay and straight alike. Worse, it has given a green light to vigilantes who have unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence against Russian gays.
In a recent paper co-authored with Ambassador Andras Simonyi of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, I argue that the United States ought to apply the Magnitsky Act against those Russians who have committed human rights violations under cover of this law.
The Magnitsky Act compels the US government to impose visa bans and asset freezes against Russians, whether they be private individuals or officials, implicated in human rights abuses. We name names, ranging from the Duma deputy who authored the law to the leader of a Russian vigilante group, as potential additions to the Magnitsky list. This tactic, we believe, would be far more effective at curbing the Russian government’s abysmal behavior than boycotting Stolichnaya vodka or the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, as some activists have proposed.
John Allen Gay takes issue with our proposal, arguing that gay rights should not be a central focus of American foreign policy vis a vis relations with Russia as, say, the reduction of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, and more practically, he believes that taking a harder line against Moscow’s anti-gay policies would do nothing to help Russia’s gays; in fact, he argues, it might hurt them.
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JBANC Applauds Passage of Magnitsky Human Rights Legislation; President Obama signs Act into Law
The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC), representing the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian communities in the United States, enthusiastically applauds the passage of the Magnitsky Act in the U.S. Congress, and the signing of the Act into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 14.
The human rights component of the law, which targets human rights offenders in Russia in the death of attorney and whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, was attached to the Act which grants Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the Russian Federation and similarly abolishes the popularly-called Jackson-Vanik amendment – on the books since 1974 – which both aided the emigration of Soviet Jews and held the USSR accountable on human rights issues. Since the Jackson-Vanik component has become anachronistic, the Magnitsky law takes its place as a marker in U.S. concerns over ongoing human rights abuses and corruption in the Russian Federation.
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Obama Signs Magnitsky Act Into Law
US President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law the Magnitsky Act, a bill punishing Russian officials for alleged human rights violations that US lawmakers attached to a landmark trade bill normalizing trade relations with Moscow.
The aspects of the law targeting Russian officials, which simultaneously repeals the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik law, has angered the Kremlin, which says it is an attempt by the United States to interfere in Russia’s internal affairs.
The law calls on the White House to draw up a list of Russian officials deemed by Washington to be complicit in rights abuses. These officials will then be banned from obtaining US visas and have their US assets frozen.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued an angry statement Friday in response to the new US law, calling the linking of the human rights legislation to the trade bill “cynical.”
The statement also made reference to the Obama administration’s original reluctance to attach the Magnitsky Act to the trade legislation, an effort that had overwhelming bipartisan support in the US Congress.
“We regret that a US administration declaring its commitment to the development of stable and constructive bilateral relations was unable to defend its stated position against those who look to the past and see our country not as a partner, but rather an opponent—fully in line with the canons of the Cold War,” the ministry said in the statement.
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Obama Signs Russia, Moldova Trade Bill And Magnitsky Sanctions Into Law
U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law legislation that grants permanent normal trade relations to Russia and Moldova while also paving the way for sanctions against Russian officials implicated in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
“I think the legislation is important legislation — all of it — and the president was happy to sign it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters after the bill was signed on December 14. “He believes it’s an important step forward in our relationship with Russia.”
By permanently exempting Moscow from trade barriers imposed by the Cold-War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment, the United States will look to benefit from increased commerce with Russia afforded by its August entry into the World Trade Organization.
The attached Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act mandates the president to publicly name Russian officials that he determines are responsible for the death of the Russian whistleblower. The officials will then be subject to U.S. visa bans or visa revocations as well as asset freezes.
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Russia’s Victory in Congress
The Magnitsky Act, passed this week by the U.S. Congress, imposes visa and financial restrictions on Russian officials implicated in corruption and human rights violations, thus giving Russian citizens a tool for defending themselves against the authoritarian system. According to IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza, this is the most pro-Russian law ever adopted in a Western country.
Politicians are often accused of indifference, cynicism, a lack of principles and an adherence to realpolitik. These accusations, alas, are often accurate. But sometimes this “system” can be breached.
On December 6th, the U.S. Senate adopted H.R. 6156, previously passed by the House of Representatives, on a vote of 92–4. The bill simultaneously repeals the cold war-era trade-restricting Jackson-Vanik Amendment and introduces targeted visa and financial sanctions on corrupt officials and human rights violators from Russia. This law is dedicated to the memory of Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow attorney who died in police custody in 2009 after being denied medical care and, according to members of the Presidential Human Rights Council, beaten by rubber truncheons. His “guilt” consisted of uncovering a $230 million tax fraud that involved law enforcement officials (it was the same officials who subsequently placed him under arrest.)
In accordance with the ruling group’s “one hand washing the other” principle, those implicated in the “Magnitsky affair” were not only spared punishment, but were actually rewarded; Interior Ministry officials linked to the attorney’s persecution and death received awards and career promotions. As for the prosecutors, they continue with the posthumous investigation of Magnitsky himself, in an attempt to “transfer” the accusations onto him.
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U.S. legislation infuriates Russia
Washington Post
The U.S. Senate on Thursday repealed a trade sanction imposed 38 years ago to force the Soviet Union to allow Jews and other religious minorities to emigrate, replacing it with a modern-day punishment for human rights abuse that has enraged Russian officials.
The old law, one of the last vestiges of the Cold War, was called the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, named after a U.S. senator and a representative. The new law, passed 92 to 4, grants Russia and Moldova permanent normal trade relations, but it is coupled with the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which honors a dead Russian. The law blacklists Russians connected to the death of Magnitsky in police custody and to other gross human rights violations, prohibiting entrance to the United States and use of its banking system.
“Today, we close a chapter in U.S. history,” Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), one of the prime movers of the Magnitsky bill, said during the debate on Jackson-Vanik. “It served its purpose. Today, we open a new chapter in U.S. leadership for human rights.”
How the United States can best promote democracy and human rights in Russia – and elsewhere – became a matter of agonizing and often bitter debate as pressure grew to repeal Jackson-Vanik. Not only was it widely considered a relic with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and freedom to emigrate from Russia, but, under the regulations of the World Trade Organization, which Russia joined this year, it also penalized American exporters.
The House approved the measure last month. President Obama said he looked forward to signing the law because of the WTO benefits for American workers, although originally the administration had argued that the Magnitsky bill was unnecessary because the president could – and would – create the desired blacklist by executive order.
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U.S. Senate Lifts Russia, Moldova Trade Barriers; Passes Magnitsky Sanctions
The U.S. Senate has voted to permanently lift Cold War-era barriers to trade with Russia, a move long sought by Moscow that could increase commerce between the countries by billions of dollars.
In the same vote, senators also voted to sanction Russian officials implicated in the death of anticorruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and in other perceived gross rights violations in Russia.
Moscow has railed against that move, which has overshadowed the trade benefits to come.
The Senate’s 92-4 vote follows the passing of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives in November. U.S. President Barack Obama is now expected to sign it into law.
When he does, Moscow will be exempted from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which imposed trade restrictions on the Soviet Union for its policy of limiting Jewish emigration. The restrictions have been waived for nearly two decades, but remained on the books as a symbol of U.S. objections to Russia’s human rights record.
Citing the weak U.S. economy, the White House had pushed Congress to lift the restrictions and grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status to Russia, the world’s seventh largest economy.
The move allows the United States to take full advantage of Moscow’s August entry into the World Trade Organization, which China and Europe have already benefited from.
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Magnitsky Bill in US Senate Targets Only Russia
The US Senate on Wednesday is set to consider a version of the “Magnitsky Act” that targets only Russian officials deemed by Washington to be complicit in human rights abuses.
The earlier version of the proposed Senate bill extended the US visa bans and asset freezes mandated in the legislation to other countries as well.
“This bill may only apply to Russia, but it sets a standard that should be applied globally,” Sen. Benjamin Cardin, the author of the “Magnitsky Act,” said in a statement Tuesday evening. “I encourage other nations to follow our lead.”
The bill before the Senate on Wednesday would simultaneously repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik restrictions on trade with Russia, establish normalized bilateral trade relations with Moscow, and introduce visa bans and asset freezes targeting Russian officials considered by the White House to be involved in the death of Russian whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as other purported violators of human rights in Russia.
The language of the bill mirrors that of a version passed by the US House of Representatives last month. It is widely expected to pass in the Senate and be signed into law by US President Barack Obama.
The decision to link the rights legislation to the trade bill has angered Russia, which has promised retaliatory measures aimed at the United States. быстрые займы на карту займы на карту https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-in-america.php займ онлайн на карту без отказа
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U.S. Senate To Vote On Key Russian Trade Bill
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote later on December 6 on legislation that would end Cold War-era restrictions on trade with Russia and Moldova but also impose sanctions on alleged human rights violators in Russia.
Last month, the House of Representatives approved the legislation, which grants “permanent normal trade relations” to Moscow. That would allow U.S. companies to take advantage of the benefits from Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization in August.
But the legislation also requires the United States to freeze assets and deny visas to Russian officials implicated in the death of anticorruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and in other perceived gross violations of human rights.
Magnitsky died in torturous prison conditions in 2009 after exposing a massive fraud scheme.
On the eve of the vote, senators debated the bill.
Many argued that passage of the Magnitsky Act would provide the United States with a powerful tool to advance human rights in Russia.
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