A/HRC/41/CRP.1 III. Targeted and State Sanctions 438. On November 15, 2018, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) sanctioned 17 individuals for their roles in the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, blocking all of their assets within US jurisdiction, and imposing a visa ban.354 The individuals included the “senior official of the Government of Saudi Arabia who was part of the planning and execution of the operation,” his subordinate, and the Saudi Consul General for Turkey 355. Subsequently, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, the EU, to name but a few, issued under various legal regimes, their own targeted sanctions against Saudi officials. 439. While the Special Rapporteur welcomes these steps taken shortly after the execution, she notes the following issues: (a) None of the Governments responsible for issuing such sanctions has provided a well-evidenced explanation as to why these particular individuals have been targeted for sanction. In general, public advice of decisions do not specify the standards of proofs that has been used and offer no substantiation for the decisions. In the case of Mr. Khashoggi, this practice has added to the lack of transparency that characterizes the steps taken to date to deliver accountability, mirroring the execution itself which was hidden behind the walls of a consulate and insulated from scrutiny by diplomatic immunity. This is highly regrettable and makes no contribution to the delivery of justice for the execution of Mr. Khashoggi. (b) At the time of writing, the highest ranked officials on the lists of these targeted for sanctions are Mr. Saud AlQahtahni, one of the alleged masterminds behind the execution of Mr. Khashoggi and an adviser to the Crown Prince, and Mr. Mohammed Alotaibi, the Saudi Consul General in Turkey. In comparison with sanctions that have been imposed around the world in response to gross human rights violations, the individuals sanctioned in the aftermath of the execution of Mr. Khashoggi are relatively middle to low-level officials and cannot be said to be members of the Saudi leadership. 356 Yet, the execution of Mr. Khashoggi rises to the level of State responsibility. Therefore, the level of seniority of the individuals targeted must be assessed in relation to the system of governance in place in Saudi Arabia. Thus far, none of the individuals targeted for sanctions can be said to be a “senior official”. (c) As a result, the impact of these sanctions is questionable. Studies have shown that the lower an individual is placed in the hierarchy of decision-making, the less effective 354 355 356 88 Department of Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions 17 Individuals for Their Roles in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm547 These sanctions were based in part on the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (the “Global Magnitsky Act”), enacted in December 2016, according to which the American President 355 may impose sanctions on “any foreign person the President determines, based on credible evidence, is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country who seek (A) to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials; or (B) to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote international recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of . . . expression . . . .” Pub. L. 114-328, Sec. 1263(a)(1). The Global Magnitsky Act permits two forms of sanctions. First, it makes violators inadmissible into the United States. Second, it permits “[t]he blocking, in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in all property and interests in property of a foreign person if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.” Following the adoption of the US act, Canada, the UK, Estonia and Lithuania have followed suit. The EU Parliament is currently considering the adoption of a Magnitsky-type legislation. See for instance, the list of the 13 individuals who were the first targets following the enactment of the new Global Magnitsky Act in December 2017: https://home.treasury.gov/news/pressreleases/sm0243. More recently, the US has imposed sanctions against Abdulhamit Gul, Turkey’s justice minister, and Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister, over the detention of an American pastor being held on espionage charge.