Irwin Cotler’s Magnitsky Motion Wins Unanimous Support in Canada’s Parliament

Motion sanctions not only Russian officials but all human rights violators

Liberal MP Irwin Cotler (C), flanked by Conservative MP David Anderson (L) and NDP MP Murray Rankin speaks during a press conference on Parliament Hill March 25, 2015. A motion by Cotler that would allow sanctions against those responsible for the detention, torture, and death in prison of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as against foreign nationals responsible for human rights violations, has been unanimously adopted by the House of Commons. NTD Television

OTTAWA—Canada’s House of Commons has unanimously passed a motion supporting sanctions against foreign nationals responsible for human rights violations—a move toward establishing a so-called Magnitsky law. 

Introduced by Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, the motion would allow sanctions against those responsible for the detention, torture, and 2009 death in prison of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who uncovered the largest tax fraud in Russian history. 

The motion also encourages the government to explore appropriate sanctions against any foreign nationals responsible for violations of internationally recognized human rights in a foreign country, when authorities in that country are unable or unwilling to conduct an independent and objective investigation of the violations.

By imposing sanctions, we can impose meaningful penalties on human rights violators and deter future violations.

— Liberal MP Irwin Cotler