US to Slap Sanctions on Russia on Human Rights Violation

Legislation that would sanction Russian officials for alleged human rights violations is moving swiftly through the US Congress, with a Senate panel unanimously approving its version of the bill on Tuesday. The potential linkage of the human rights bill with legislation that would remove Cold War-era trade restrictions on Moscow has sparked major debate among US lawmakers, particularly amid the backdrop of Russia’s impending WTO accession and warnings of retaliation from Moscow should the human rights measure become law.

The human rights legislation - known as the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act - has quickly drawn support in both chambers of Congress, having now successfully passed both the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees. However, the legislation still needs formal approval from both the full House and Senate, as well as the US President, before it can become law.

The US trade chief has openly argued against linking the trade and human rights bills, which acknowledging that the latter issue will need to be addressed in Congress in some form.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry has warned of retaliation should the Magnitsky bill become law, a response that US officials have cautioned against.

However, several high-profile administration officials and lawmakers - including Secretary of State Clinton, Republican Senator John McCain, and Senator Baucus - have said that the Syria question should be dealt with separately from PNTR.