Proposed amendments allow government to sanction individuals for ‘gross human rights violations’ or serious corruption

Foreign government officials could face sanctions for “gross human rights violations” while corrupt business people could be banned from travelling to Australia and have their assets and bank accounts frozen.

New sanctions powers – announced by the Morrison government on Thursday and expected to be presented to parliament by the end of the year – will allow Australia to target “perpetrators of egregious acts of international concern”.

Related: ‘We will respond in kind’: China’s ambassador warns Australia not to join Xinjiang sanctions

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Related: Labor pushes Morrison government to clarify whether it views Xinjiang human rights abuses as genocide

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.