On December 2, 2021, the EU, UK, US, and Canada all imposed additional coordinated sanctions on Belarus as a punitive action against the government led by President Alexander Lukashenko, which has been accused of human rights violations and creating a migrant crisis at Belarusian borders. As further described below, the sanctions included the designation of a number of parties (individuals and entities), whilst certain individuals will also be subject to travel bans preventing them entering…
On August 9, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada significantly escalated sanctions against Belarus in a multilateral effort to put pressure on the current Lukashenko regime. These sanctions were announced on the first anniversary of the fraudulent elections held in Belarus on August 9, 2020 and follow a series of previous measures against Belarus, including most recently the coordinated measures between the UK, US, Canada and the EU in June (see our…
Effective July 14, 2021, the Government of Canada imposed new sanctions against 15 individuals pursuant to the Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Nicaragua) Regulations. The sanctions were imposed in response to alleged ongoing human rights violations being committed in Nicaragua. Listed persons under the Special Economic Measures (Nicaragua) Regulations (the “Regulations”) are considered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. In addition, the Regulations effectively impose an asset freeze on listed…
Effective June 21, 2021, the Government of Canada imposed new sanctions against 17 individuals and 5 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations (the “Regulations”). The sanctions were imposed in response to alleged systemic human rights violations and the May 23, 2021 diversion, by the Belarusian regime, of Ryanair Flight 4978 from its planned course in order to land in Minsk. The imposition of sanctions by the Government of Canada was taken in coordination…