EU Sanctions People, Entities for Gender-Based Violence

The Council of the European Union on July 22 sanctioned four people and two entities for "serious human rights abuses," including the systematic use of sexual and gender-based violence in Syria, Ukraine, North Korea and Haiti.

The measures target Abdel Karim Mohammad Ibrahim, the chief of staff of the Syrian army, and Ali Mahmoud Abbas, former Syrian defense minister. The council said both are "responsible for the actions of the armed forces under their command," including gender-based violence against civilians.

Also listed were Ri Chang Dae, North Korean minister of state security, and Evgeniy Sobolev, head of Russia's "penitentiary service" installed in the Kherson oblast in Ukraine.

The two listed entities are Kokorat San Ras, a Haitian gang, and the Onsong County MSS Detention Centre, a North Korean detention facility.