Treasury hits China, Myanmar and North Korea with human rights sanctions

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury on Friday, imposed sanctions through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), against 15 people and 10 entities involved in human rights abuse.

The Treasury's sanctions include individuals and organizations with ties to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh.

Sanctions prohibit U.S. firms from doing business with those singled out by the Treasury as "perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse."

Canada and the United Kingdom joined the United States in enacting sanctions.

In a separate move, the Treasury also imposed investment restrictions on a Chinese tech company, adding it to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN).

It says SenseTime's technology has been used to help target minorities, mainly Uyghur Muslims and members of other minorities, in China.

Also hit with sanctions on Friday were North Korea's Central Public Prosecutors Office, a Bangladesh special police unit, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and a Russian university provost accused of exploiting North Korean foreign workers through student visas.

The sanctions coincided with International Human Rights Day.

"On International Human Rights Day, Treasury is using its tools to expose and hold accountable perpetrators of serious human rights abuse. Our actions today, particularly those in partnership with the United Kingdom and Canada, send a message that democracies around the world will act against those who abuse the power of the state to inflict suffering and repression," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.