Monthly Archives: December 2020

New U.S. Policy, Same Human Rights Expectations: Companies Sourcing from the Western Sahara Are Still Obligated to Respect International Law

On December 10, 2020, President Trump formally announced that the Government of Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco will normalize their bilateral relationship, marking the fourth Arab country that recognizes Israel as a result of the Abraham Accords. Over the coming months, the new agreement will allow the two countries to resume full diplomatic relations, increase cooperation on security and economic matters, and open up regular flights between Morocco and Israel.… More

SEC Issues Controversial New Rule on Payment Transparency in the Natural Resource Sector

On December 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a new regulation that revises and reinstitutes a previously-repealed SEC regulation to implement Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The new rule is the culmination (for now) of a long process to implement the ten-year old Section 1504, which Congress included in Dodd-Frank with the intent of making payments to foreign governments by oil, gas, and mining companies more transparent.… More

CBP Modifies WRO After Brazilian Co. Demonstrates Compliance with Forced Labor Regulations

On December 7, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) modified an existing Withhold Release Order (WRO) on bone black produced in Brazil by Bonechar Carvão Ativado do Brasil Ltda (Bonechar). As a result of this change, Bonechar-produced bone black is now admissible at all U.S. ports of entry, effective December 4, 2020. Bone black is charcoal made from animal bones which has multiple industrial purposes, including filtration.… More

European Union Approves Global Magnitsky-Style Human Rights Sanctions Regime

In a landmark development, the European Union’s Foreign Ministers on December 8 approved an “Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy” that establishes a new mechanism for targeting systematic violators of human rights from any country in the world. The human rights community has colloquially termed the Action Plan “Europe’s Global Magnitsky Act”, an homage to the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act that was passed by a wide bipartisan margin in Congress and signed into law by former President Obama at the end of his administration.… More