The U.S. Finally Has a Tool to Deter Hostage-Taking

Future Security Program Fellow Sarah Moriarty wrote in the Washington Post on the new authority the government has to deter wrongful detention and hostage-taking.

The U.S. now has the authority to designate an entire government a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention (SSWD). The executive branch, under a single instrument, can impose sanctions, visa restrictions, financial penalties and coordinated interagency actions. Consequences could include restrictions on geographic travel, on assistance provided to the nation’s government under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and on the export of certain goods to the country under the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018. Critically, the State Department can also quickly reverse these consequences or retract the SSWD designation should a foreign government release their hostages and change their behavior.

Read the full article here.