Buried in the language of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, a groundbreaking piece of human rights legislation was surreptitiously passed by Congress last Thursday. The bill, the Global Magnitsky Act, will allow the president to impose sanctions on non-U.S. citizens who commit crimes or violent acts against whistleblowers. This provision aims to crack down on corruption and human rights abuses around the world, beyond the borders of the United States. But how will this affect a world savaged by human rights abuses— from fighting in Aleppo the UN has described as “the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century” and an incoming presidential administration that has been largely silent on the subject of human rights?
