The European Union will have to go to China with sanctions for the first time since the repression of Tiananmen Square in 1989, and blacklisted four people and an entity for human rights violations in Xinjiang, they said. several diplomats.
Senior EU officials agreed to use their new human rights sanctions regime to target Chinese officials on Thursday, after lengthy negotiations this week, once again exposing the bloc’s divisions on how to address Beijing.
Sanctions, which include a travel ban and asset freeze, are being imposed because of Beijing’s actions in Xinjiang that the United States and some European capitals have labeled as genocide against the Uighur Muslim minority.
The decision still needs formal signature, which is expected to take place when foreign ministers meet later in March. Chinese officials are included in a broader list of alleged human rights violators in Russia, North Korea and Africa.
The names of officials will only be made known once a formal decision has been made.