Today @humanrights1st.bsky.social and @rwchr.bsky.social urged the Canadian govt to impose sanctions on President Bukele and Salvadoran officials involved in torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and other gross human rights violations over the past four years.

We condemn the Trump administration's latest sanctions against two International Criminal Court officials, including its president. The ICC plays a critical role in providing accountability for victims of atrocities. US attacks on the Court are an affront to this essential mission.

In a new report, @humanrightsfirst.org documents concerns w/the Trump admin's use of human rights & anticorruption sanctions over 6 months. We tracked: unexplained delistings tied to Russia, Venezuela & more; civil society actors apparently targeted; & no Global Magnitsky sanctions for 9+ months.

Today we joined 100+ international law experts, leading advocates, and civil society organizations to urge the U.S. State Department to withdraw its policy to dismantle the International Criminal Court and refrain from actions that undermine its independence.

We condemn the @state-department.bsky.social's escalating campaign to weaken the International Criminal Court and urge other countries to reject this blatant attempt to bully the world into turning its back on this vital institution for justice. www.humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

Today, we and Sassoufit Collective called on the UK government to impose targeted sanctions against two members of Congo-Brazzaville’s ruling Sassou Nguesso family for allegedly embezzling public funds and laundering them into U.S. real estate. www.humanrightsfirst.org/library/ahea...

Ruth Lopez has been arbitrarily detained for over a year for exposing the corruption and abuses of the Bukele regime. On behalf of @humanrightsfirst.org, I joined civil society organizations at the US Capitol this week to demand her release and send the message that she is not forgotten. #FreeRuth

Cristosal@cristosal.bsky.social · 3mo ago

📍 Outside the U.S. Capitol, @kerrykennedy.bsky.social and @repmcgovern.bsky.social joined civil society organizations in calling for the release of Ruth López. #FreeRuth #PublicTrialForRuth #HumanRights #ElSalvador

Credible reports are emerging from #Bahrain that detainee Mohamed al-Mosawi was tortured to death in custody a week after being arrested. We previously submitted evidence to the US gov't recommending that Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al Khalifa face sanctions for his role in torture.

Human Rights First Seeks Sanctions for Torture in Bahrain Prisons  - Human Rights First

Washington D.C. — Human Rights First today submitted a dossier to the U.S. government recommending targeted sanctions against Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al Khalifa, Bahrain’s long-serving interior min...

humanrightsfirst.org

The Trump administration's misuse of sanctions is eroding the U.S. government's ability to effectively and legitimately use these tools for positive impact against human rights abusers and corrupt actors. Facts, not favors, must shape U.S. decision-making. @npr.org www.npr.org/2026/03/17/n...

How Trump's Treasury is shifting sanctions to punish his critics and reward friends

Spain's Prime Minister called U.S. strikes against Iran "unjustified." When other foreigners in power have used similar language against the U.S. or Israel, they were sanctioned by the Treasury.

npr.org

“To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” Judgment of the international Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Germany.

With SASSOUFIT and @rwchr.bsky.social we’re proud today to recommend targeted sanctions against two members of Congo-Brazzaville’s ruling Sassou Nguesso family for allegedly embezzling public funds and laundering them into U.S. real estate. @andreangombet.bsky.social

Human Rights First, Sassoufit Collective, and Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights Seek U.S. and Canadian Sanctions on Congolese President’s Son, Daughter for Embezzlement, Laundering into United ...

Washington, D.C. – Three organizations that fight for the rule of law – Human Rights First, the Sassoufit Collective, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights – today submitted a dossier to th...

humanrightsfirst.org

Human Rights First strongly supports UN Special Rapporteur Satterthwaite’s call for the U.S. government to lift its sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court and end its attack on those seeking justice for atrocities. Thank you for your leadership @unsr-judges.bsky.social.

USA: UN expert demands withdrawal of sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors, calls for repeal of executive order

GENEVA – The United States must immediately withdraw sanctions against judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and repeal Executive Order 14203 of February 2025, a UN expert s...

ohchr.org

The Trump admin's sanctions on Brazilian justice Alexandre de Moraes support impunity for political allies under the guise of protecting press freedom. Globally, journalists are facing the highest rate of killings ever recorded. How about starting there. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

Human Rights First Deplores Use of Global Magnitsky Sanctions to Support Impunity for Political Allies - Human Rights First

Washington, D.C. – Human Rights First regrets that the Trump administration’s first use of Global Magnitsky sanctions, which targeted the Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes for allege...

humanrightsfirst.org

This is why the Trump admin should not have ended sanctions against violent Israeli settlers. The U.S. govt should reinstate sanctions against Yinon Levi following reports he killed Palestinian journalist Awdah Hathaleen in the West Bank yesterday. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Wave of condemnation after killing of Palestinian activist in West Bank

Israeli soldiers raid mourning tent after death of Awdah Hathaleen, who helped make Oscar-winning No Other Land

theguardian.com

🚨 NEW: The Trump admin sanctioned four ICC judges in a brute-force attempt to bully the court over its investigations into Palestine & Afghanistan. Our statement: humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

Human Rights First Condemns Deepened U.S. Attack on International Criminal Court - Human Rights First

Washington D.C. — Human Rights First condemned the Trump administration’s action today imposing financial sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges who have issued rulings over the l...

humanrightsfirst.org

BREAKING: We’re suing the Trump administration on behalf of #ICC attorney and U.S. Army veteran Eric Iverson, challenging its dangerous misuse of sanctions that threaten war crimes accountability and violate fundamental rights. Read more👇

Human Rights First Sues Trump Administration Over Sanctions Threatening U.S. Prosecutor at International Criminal Court - Human Rights First

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Human Rights First has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial attorney and U.S. Army veteran Eric Iverson, challe...

humanrightsfirst.org

Glad to testify @houseforeign.bsky.social on how U.S. human rights & humanitarian leadership bolsters American security, prosperity & well-being. Downgrading human rights & anti-TIP experts & eliminating offices that negotiate peace, fight GBV, and pursue war criminals — does exactly the opposite.

Human Rights First@humanrightsfirst.org · last yr.

Happening now: our CEO @uzraz.bsky.social will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the importance of an empowered, authorized State Department to advance peace, stability, and human rights. Tune in here: foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/the-...

Happening now: our CEO @uzraz.bsky.social will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the importance of an empowered, authorized State Department to advance peace, stability, and human rights. Tune in here: foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/the-...

The Need for an Authorized State Department - Committee on Foreign Affairs

Hearing Notice

foreignaffairs.house.gov

Today we joined @aclu.org and @nyclu.org in an amicus brief to protect the 1st Amendment rights and interests of civil society groups that advocate for U.S. human rights and corruption sanctions. Read more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

Human Rights First Joins ACLU and NYCLU in Amicus Brief to Protect First Amendment Rights and Interests of NGOs Advocating for U.S. Sanctions - Human Rights First

New York – Today, Human Rights First, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Distr...

humanrightsfirst.org

Today @humanrights1st launched a new comparative chart on how Magnitsky-style sanctions are used to hold human rights abusers & corrupt actors accountable in the U.S., U.K., EU, Canada, and Australia. Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/what...

What abuses and corrupt acts can be sanctioned in different Magnitsky jurisdictions? - Human Rights First

By Nina Moraitou-Politzi Targeted financial sanctions have become a key tool in holding perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and acts of corruption to account, while also helping deter others fr...

humanrightsfirst.org

Not surprised that it turns out Rogán’s removal from the OFAC list is illegal. According to Senators @shaheen.senate.gov and @warren.senate.gov this wasn’t just a whopsie-daisy — it was a direct violation of U.S. sanctions law. But sure, let’s keep pretending this is all normal.

Ranking Members Shaheen and Warren Express Deep Concern Following Sanctions Reversal for Corrupt Hungarian Official | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking...

foreign.senate.gov

“Today’s action sets a damaging precedent that will entice every other sanctioned oligarch, kleptocrat, money launderer, and criminal to line up for their turn at relief next.” @adamofkeith.bsky.social on today’s unjustified delisting of a Hungarian official from the GloMag sanctions list.

Human Rights First@humanrightsfirst.org · last yr.

.@humanrightsfirst.org & @transparencyusa.bsky.social condemn the Trump admin for lifting Global Magnitsky sanctions on sr Hungarian official Antal Rogán. This delisting raises grave concerns that the US is undermining an important corruption accountability tool. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

“The U.S. should be holding Bukele’s government accountable, but instead the Trump admin is cozying up to & copying Bukele’s authoritarian playbook — rounding up people with no evidence, denying them any due process & disappearing them in abusive Salvadoran prisons indefinitely.”

Human Rights First@humanrightsfirst.org · last yr.

All eyes on the White House today as President Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

85K people in El Salvador have been detained in abusive prisons without due process in just 3 years. What happened in the Oval Office today was a clear promise from Trump and Bukele to defy US courts and wrongfully send even more people to indefinite detention there. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u...

El Salvador’s President Says He Won’t Return Maryland Man Who Was Wrongly Deported (Gift Article)

An Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador was a blunt example of Mr. Trump’s defiance of the federal courts.

nytimes.com

The United States should be holding Bukele’s govt accountable for serious violations. Instead, the Trump admin is cozying up to and copying Bukele’s authoritarian playbook - rounding up people with no evidence, denying them any due process, and disappearing them in Salvadoran prisons indefinitely.

Human Rights First@humanrightsfirst.org · last yr.

NEW: @humanrights1st strongly condemns the White House’s invitation and upcoming meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele: Read our statement: humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

While multilateral #Magnitsky sanctions are ideal, sometimes countries must use them independently to ensure accountability for human rights abuses & corruption. That's why we & @redress.org are asking the #UK to build on its leadership in using such sanctions.

Letter to the FCDO Regarding the Need to Increase Global Leadership in Accountability for Human Rights Abuses and Corruption Through Targeted Sanctions - Human Rights First

A letter to the UK Minister of State on behalf of Human Rights First and REDRESS recommending that the United Kingdom build on existing leadership in the use of targeted human rights and anticorruptio...

humanrightsfirst.org

Let this sink in. The lawyers of US greencard holder Mahmoud Khalil have not been able to have A SINGLE PHONE CALL with their client since he was arrested on Saturday night. Today, the court had to order that Khalil be allowed calls. This is not normal. www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/u...

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in ICE detention in Louisiana after first court hearing | CNN

Prominent Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana for now following a procedural hearing in New York, days after he was arrested by federal officials ...

cnn.com

In our latest periodic report, @humanrights1st.bsky.social tracked how the U.S. gov't used #Magnitsky-style sanctions and visa restrictions to hold human rights abusers and corrupt actors accountable in the second half of 2024. humanrightsfirst.org/library/us-g...

U.S. GLOBAL MAGNITSKY AND RELATED SANCTIONS End of Year Update 2024 - Human Rights First

This briefing provides an overview of recent developments in the U.S. government’s use of its targeted human rights and anticorruption sanctions programs from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. Downl...

humanrightsfirst.org

The Treasury Dept announced it is no longer enforcing a key provision to fight money laundering in the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act. This rolls back progress in combating corruption and offers criminals a safe harbor in the United States. thefactcoalition.org/treasury-reo...

Treasury Reopens the Floodgates to Dirty Money in the U.S.

The Treasury Department’s decision to limit reporting requirements under the landmark Corporate Transparency Act to only foreign entities is a boon for fentanyl traffickers, domestic criminals, and ta...

thefactcoalition.org

The morning after another night of Russian missile attacks on Kharkiv, #Ukraine, locals react with fury after Trump & Vance attacked President Zelenskyy at yesterday’s press conference in DC. Our Sr Advisor @dooleydooley.bsky.social reports from Kharkiv: humanrightsfirst.org/library/khar...