Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I present the committee's report incorporating a dissenting report entitled A review of the operation of the amendments made by the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021. I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

On behalf of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and as chair of the human rights sub committee, I present the committee's report into the review of the operations of the amendments made by the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021. This report is a legislated review of the operation of one component of this framework, the thematic or Magnitsky style autonomous sanctions.

Australia's sanctions regimes offer the potential to tackle serious human rights violations and corruption and address situations of international concern around the world. The framework complements Australia's pre-existing multilateral and autonomous sanctions regimes and holds real promise in tackling human rights abuses, curbing serious corruption and addressing other issues of international concern globally.

A DFAT-led 2023 review of sanctions laws is welcomed, and the anticipated outcomes of the review will contribute to further legislative changes during the 48th Parliament.

However, given Magnitsky style thematic sanctions remain in their infancy, and noting the current complex and dynamic geopolitical landscape, further periodic reviews will be needed to strengthen the effectiveness of Australia's autonomous sanctions framework.

The autonomous sanctions framework is one tool among a suite of foreign policy tools that are available to the Australian government. However, it should be noted that, in the face of serious human rights abuses and corrupt conduct, sanctions will not always be appropriate or effective. It should also be noted that there is limited evidence demonstrating the impact of autonomous Magnitsky style thematic sanctions in either deterring or punishing human rights abuses or seriously corrupt conduct.

As such, ongoing efforts by DFAT and others to monitor the impact of Australia's sanctions regime and to identify opportunities for future legislative reform would be most welcome.

There are concerns that Australia's thematic sanctions do not yet live up to their full promise. The committee identified areas in which this framework can and should be strengthened. To this end, this report makes five recommendations aimed at strengthening Australia's autonomous sanctions framework: that sanctions decisions be accompanied by detailed reasoning; that reasons for sanctions decisions be included in the consolidated list of sanctioned individuals and entities; that the parliament receive an annual report on sanctions decisions taken during the previous year; that the regulations for imposing autonomous sanctions be updated to include listing criteria for all thematic areas; and that humanitarian exemptions be legislated to ensure humanitarian assistance is not adversely affected by the imposition of sanctions.

On behalf of the committee, I extend my thanks to the stakeholders and submitters who contributed their time and experience to the inquiry. I also thank all committee members for their collegiate approach. In particular, I'd like to thank the deputy chair, Senator Linda Reynolds, and also the member for Blair, who is a member of this committee but also chairs the wider foreign affairs, defence and trade committee, for their assistance. I'd also like to thank the secretariat for their support throughout this inquiry. I commend this report to the House.