OUT OF SIGHT, NOT OUT OF REACH • The Global Scale and Scope of Transnational Repression Ensure that there is full and consistent reporting on transnational repression in the State Department country reports. Since 2019, US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices have included a section on “Politically Motivated Reprisals against Individuals Located outside the Country.” Strengthening and making consistent this section of the reports would help create a more robust record of transnational repression and encourage greater awareness of the problem. Combat Interpol abuse. Interpol abuse—in which governments take advantage of the lack of due process protections within the International Criminal Police Organization’s notification system to have targets spuriously detained or extradited—is a serious threat in the United States. US law enforcement agencies, including immigration enforcement, sometimes detain individuals based on notices from countries without independent judiciaries, subjecting them to extended detention without adequate cause. To combat Interpol abuse, the Biden administration should: • Issue clear guidance establishing that Interpol notices are not equivalent to arrest warrants under US law, and may not be used as the sole basis for detention or deprivation of services in the United States. • Apply the voice and vote of the US government within Interpol to establish due process reforms and increase transparency. The United States is by far the largest statutory contributor to Interpol’s budget, and should leverage its contributions alongside other democracies to improve the functioning of Interpol and reduce opportunities for abuse. Release the CIA’s assessment of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Releasing an unclassified version of the CIA’s assessment that names perpetrators would help establish accountability for the most famous case of transnational repression in recent years. Congress Ensure strong targeted sanctions laws and sufficient funding for enforcement. With robust bipartisan support, Congress has played a crucial role in ensuring the successful implementation of US sanctions programs that target human rights violators. Several key steps by Congress could make existing programs even stronger, particularly with respect to accountability for perpetrators of transnational repression: 56 @FreedomHouse • Reauthorize the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 USC 2656 note), which allows for visa bans and asset freezes on individuals and entities engaged in human rights abuses and corruption. It will sunset on December 23, 2022 without reauthorization. • Codify Executive Order 13818, which expands on the Global Magnitsky Act and other country-specific sanctions programs focused on human rights abuses and corruption. This would enable the United States to impose sanctions for serious human rights abuses, a term which encompasses a greater number of abuses than the more restrictive threshold of gross violations of human rights – the standard included in the Global Magnitsky Act in its original form. • Work with relevant agencies to ensure offices dealing with sanctions are fully funded. Congressional appropriators have already been consulting with agencies on the funding levels necessary for sanctions enforcement, and Congress has provided modest dedicated funding for these activities. However, agency staff continue to report that the number of cases to be vetted for possible sanction far exceeds current capacity. Congress should support funding for additional personnel in relevant sanctions offices in order to ensure the executive branch has adequate capacity to implement sanctions policies. Restrict security assistance for states engaging in transnational repression. Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 USC 2304), is intended to “promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world” by making the observance of human rights a “principal goal of US foreign policy.” Current law prohibits the provision of security assistance to any government engaging “in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights” unless the president certifies to Congress that “extraordinary circumstances” warrant the provision of assistance. This section should be updated to allow the restriction of security assistance for states consistently engaging in acts of transnational repression. This would serve the dual purpose of limiting an aggressor government’s resources for engaging in transnational repression while also sending a strong signal that the behavior is unacceptable. Congress should work with the executive branch and subject matter experts to determine whether this should be done by adding “acts of transnational repression” as a new, standalone category for which aid could be restricted, or whether the definition of gross violations of human rights, as defined in 22 USC 2304(d)(1)), should itself be updated. #TransnationalRepression