Magnitsky Act of Lebanon

Magnitsky Act of Lebanon

On August 4, 2020, Lebanon came under global spotlight and scrutiny after a massive explosion in the port of Beirut. A newer tribulation to add to the history of Lebanon and its long list of disasters. In the past few decades, the country’s economy has completely fallen and is still declining.

The Lebanese Pound has alarmingly dropped by 80 percent in value and unemployment is at an all-time high. The Lebanese have come out of their homes and onto the streets protesting against the corruption of their government–with hopes to put an end to it. The nation with a history of political turmoils is on the brink of an economic collapse expedited by the calamity of the ongoing global pandemic.

Lebanon still refuses to meet the demand of the international community. The demand not only of foreign countries but of their own people too–the demand for reforms. The Lebanon officials, on the other hand, have consistently denied taking action against the corruption flooded in their ranks and have resisted any change in governance.

In response, the international committee has put a condition for receiving aid. The western countries have refused to sanction any financial relief until reforms are made, which are still denied. Furthermore, US laws threaten to pursue those who have brought the country to its knees.

The US and France said that aid will be provided on condition that Lebanon carries out crucial economic reforms first. However, Prime Minister Hasan Diab’s government states that they are right now incapable of carrying out these reforms under current conditions.

Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the condition was “rapidly getting out of control” and that the weaker Lebanese citizens are on the brink of starvation. She said, “We must act immediately before it is too late. In the middle of this ongoing crisis, the Magnitsky Act comes into play, which may possibly affect businessmen, politicians, and perhaps even religious leaders, in the opinion of economist Violette Balaa.

In a statement released by Ms. Balaa, she said, “The delay in starting its implementation is linked to a careful study of the legal mechanism attached to its provisions and recommendations, and it is complicated in terms of freezing assets inside and outside Lebanon. Besides, it is possible that those affected by the sanctions might resort to justice.”

The government has adopted a political-party-trick of stalling indispensable reforms, as in the case of the electricity sector and practicing a policy of “circumventing” the case of financial appointments to maintain the political quota. The power distribution department is at its lowest since the times of war, with adulterated resources and fuel smuggling to blame.

“The owners of power generators are giving the signal to completely cut off the energy supply for reasons related to rationing the distribution of fuel, for fear of having it smuggled to Syria,” said Violette Balaa in an interview.

The talk of the US not granting any exemptions for Lebanon from the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act has also come up. This Act will send a message to foreign tradesmen that they should not mingle with President Bashar Assad’s regime. David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Washington, previously suggested that the US was considering sanctions in the context of the Magnitsky Act in Lebanon, and was thinking over a set of names.

The Magnitsky Act is the legislation that permits governmental sanctions against foreign individuals who have abused human rights or have been involved in significant corruption. It started with the United States which passed the Magnitsky law in 2012, after the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a tax accountant of Russia. He accused Russian tax officials and law enforcement of stealing $230 million in tax rebates from the Hermitage Capital.

He was, thereafter, arrested and put in jail with the charge of aiding tax evasion. It was allegedly reported that he was beaten by the police, leading to his death at Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility in Russia in 2009.

In the year 2012, the United States Congress approved the Magnitsky Act–a bipartisan act–which imposed sanctions on the accused officials. Following its example, several countries have passed similar legislation.

In 2016, the US Congress introduced the “Global Magnitsky Act“. This version permitted the US president to pursue any foreign figure accused of human rights violations, which include murder, torture, and other related acts of crime.

In 2017, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order No. 13818 that could block the property of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or corruption.

“There is an impression among US administration officials that Diab’s government will not last long after the series of failures that the Lebanese are seeing during the outbreak of economic and social crises and they expect this government to fall next September,” Balaa said. It came true as Saad Hariri returned to power, a year after his resignation, for the fourth time through a slim majority recently, a move not welcomed by a large population of Lebanon.

The political turmoil within the sectarian democracy of Lebanon is not helping the dying state of its economy. It is important to note that Lebanon’s economy began crumbling during Mr. Hariri’s previous term and he was forced to resign in 2019 amidst the allegations of corruption, and protests by the Lebanese population. Mr. Hariri, however, has pledged to take Lebanon out of its ongoing financial crisis.

With the ongoing political turmoil and the international pressure for economic reforms, the Magnitsky Act has been threatening Lebanese politicians for a while now. In current times, the Lebanese political leader Gibran Bassil is being pursued by the US government. Michael Pompeo, Secretary of State, has called him out for being “notorious for corruption”.

Bassil has held various government posts and heads the Free Patriotic Movement. The United States has frozen his assets and has barred his entry into the country. Bassil is the first Lebanese politician to be sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act. It is speculated that around 23 other Lebanese politicians and individuals have also been blacklisted.

Before that, in September, the US blacklisted two ex-Lebanese government ministers–Hassan Khalil and Youssef Fenianos–for providing material support for Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist.