EU agrees to new sanctions regime for rights abuses

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU envoys agreed on Wednesday on a new mechanism to punish human rights abuses around the world by targeting people regardless of their nationality or their location, two diplomats said.

Pushed by the Netherlands, as well as the United States, the European Union will now be able to freeze assets of those deemed responsible, similar to the Magnitsky Act of 2012 in the United States, highlighting abuses that might otherwise go unnoticed.