The Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions (Overseas Territories) Order 2026
Extended UK human rights and international humanitarian law sanctions to specific British overseas territories and established local enforcement frameworks.
This Order extends the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026 to twelve British overseas territories, including the Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, and Falkland Islands.
It authorizes the freezing of funds and economic resources belonging to persons designated by the UK Secretary of State for involvement in serious human rights violations or breaches of international humanitarian law.
The Order directs Governors of these territories to publish lists of designated persons, establishes licensing procedures for permitted financial activities, and defines criminal penalties for circumventing these sanctions.
Arguments For
The Order states that its purpose is to extend the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026 to British overseas territories to ensure a consistent sanctions regime.
According to the explanatory note, the underlying regulations aim to deter and provide accountability for activities that amount to serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law.
The document asserts that these measures are intended to address the obstruction of the delivery, distribution of, or access to humanitarian assistance.
The legislation provides a legal framework for enforcing asset freezes and immigration exclusions against designated persons within the specified territories.
Arguments Against
Legal scholars may note that the Order grants Governors broad discretionary powers to delegate authority and issue licenses, which could lead to variations in enforcement across different territories.
Financial institutions in the territories may face increased administrative burdens due to new reporting obligations and the requirement to identify "Territory persons" under specific nationality criteria.
Civil liberties groups might question the lack of a formal Impact Assessment regarding the potential effects on the private and voluntary sectors within the territories.
The requirement for the Governor to obtain Secretary of State consent for licensing and directions may raise concerns regarding the speed of local administrative responses in urgent humanitarian cases.
Citation, commencement and extent
- -(1) This Order may be cited as the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions (Overseas Territories) Order 2026.
- (2) This Order comes into force on 15th October 2026.
- (3) This Order extends to each British overseas territory listed in Schedule 1.
This section establishes the official name of the Order and sets its commencement date as 15th October 2026.
It specifies that the legal provisions apply to the specific British overseas territories identified in the first schedule of the document.
Extension of the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026
- The Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026( b ) as amended from time to time extend to each British overseas territory listed in Schedule 1 with the modifications specified in Schedule 2.
This article extends the main 2026 UK sanctions regulations regarding human rights and humanitarian law to the listed territories.
It incorporates any future amendments to those regulations and applies the specific technical changes detailed in Schedule 2 to ensure the law functions correctly within the local context of each territory.
Extension of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018
- Subject to the modification set out in paragraph (c), the following provisions of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 extend to each British overseas territory listed in Schedule 1 for the purposes of the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026 as modified and extended to the territories by this Order-
- (a) section 44 (protection for acts done for purposes of compliance);
- (b) section 52(3) (Crown application);
- (c) section 53 (saving for prerogative powers), except that, in its application to a particular British overseas territory, the reference in subsection (1) of that section to the United Kingdom is to be read as a reference to that territory.
This section extends specific parts of the primary UK sanctions legislation to the territories, providing legal protections for individuals who comply with the regulations.
It ensures the rules apply to the Crown and preserves existing royal prerogative powers, adjusting references from the 'United Kingdom' to the specific territory where applicable.
Revocation of the Global Human Rights Sanctions (Overseas Territories) Order 2020
- The Global Human Rights Sanctions (Overseas Territories) Order 2020( a ) is revoked.
This article cancels the previous 2020 Order that governed human rights sanctions in the overseas territories.
It replaces the old legal framework with the updated 2026 standards established by this new Order.
SCHEDULE 1
British overseas territories
Anguilla
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Montserrat
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the Island of Cyprus
Turks and Caicos Islands
Virgin Islands
This schedule lists the twelve specific British overseas territories where this Order is legally binding.
Notable exclusions mentioned in the explanatory note include Bermuda and Gibraltar, which maintain their own separate legislative arrangements for sanctions.
SCHEDULE 2
Article 2
Modifications to be made in the extension of the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026 to each British overseas territory listed in Schedule 1
[...Includes modifications to regulations 1 through 50 and Schedule 2...]
This schedule details extensive technical modifications to the 2026 Regulations to adapt them for use in overseas territories.
It defines the 'Governor' as the primary authority, establishes 'Territory persons' as the regulated group, and sets out specific criminal penalties, including fines up to £5,000 and imprisonment for up to seven years.
It also grants Governors the power to issue search warrants and financial licenses, provided they obtain consent from the UK Secretary of State.
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