More Must Be Done Now for Future Israeli Hostages

As Israelis all over the world breathe a collective sigh of relief that eighteen more hostages are finally home – with hopefully more to follow soon – the Israeli government will need to confront the reality that hostage-taking of its citizens abroad is likely to increase.

Such kidnapping efforts have already stepped up. Last month, the National Security Council warned of escalated attempts by the Iranian regime to lure Israelis abroad, with the aim to harm or kidnap them. This warning followed Iranian operatives’ attempts to target an Israeli businessman by luring him to the United Arab Emirates. Fortunately, the plot was thwarted.

This problem is not unique to Israel, and lessons can be learned from other jurisdictions. Hostage-taking is a common tool used by authoritarian regimes and terrorist groups alike. In particular, the increasing use of “hostage diplomacy” – the taking hostage of an individual on the basis of their nationality, to pressure their government to take or refrain from taking a particular action – is a phenomenon with which rights-respecting governments all over the world are now seriously contending.

U.S., Canadian, and Australian politicians appear to be taking the lead. In September 2023, the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, MP Melissa Lantsman, introduced Bill C-353 as the Foreign Hostage Takers Accountability Act. The Bill, which was based on a legislative proposal co-published by the Canadian Coalition Against Terror and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute more than four years ago, was in the midst of committee study prior to last month’s proragation of Canadian parliament. It would have provided for targeted sanctions to be imposed on perpetrators; mandated that the Canadian government provide assistance to the familities of hostages and detainees, including psychological support services; and allowed for the establishment of programs to incentivize cooperation and protect foreign nationals that assist the Canadian government in facilitating the safe return of those detained. This Bill is expected to be re-introduced following the upcoming Canadian federal election.

Similar legislation is also being contemplated in Australia, recognizing the importance of imposing sanctions on those responsible for wrongful detentions of Australian citizens abroad, and the importance of adequately supporting the family members of the detainees. The Australian House of Lords, following last year’s study on the issue, recommended looking to the United States’ Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act as a “suitable starting point for establishing an Australian framework”.

Generally speaking, legal reform is a useful tool to fill gaps, and many of the shortcomings in governmental responses to hostage-taking are common across the board.

One such common shortcoming is the failure of governments to use targeted sanctions policies to combat hostage-taking and arbitrary detention. A recent review of existing targeted sanction mechanisms across the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the E.U. noted that there is an “apparent reticence among some policy-makers to use sanctions in response to cases of arbitrary detention or against judicial officers for such detention or unfair trials.” In that context, legislation that clearly directs that sanctions may be implemented on perpetrators of hostage-taking could give governments the clear power and direction to immediately deploy targeted sanctions in response to these crimes.

Sanctions may include property-blocking sanctions and travel restrictions, and serve to “name and shame” individual perpetrators. Autocrats around the world have demonstrated sensitivity to such efforts, often reacting intensely to their officials’ inclusion on such lists.

The clear ability to impose sanctions on those responsible for the hostage-taking of Israelis abroad could give greater teeth to the Israeli government’s efforts to combat these crimes and, ultimately, deter the behaviour in the first place. Such legislation may embolden policymakers to leverage a greater variety of tools to pressure those responsible and raise the costs associated with taking Israelis hostage.

Another systemic issue across numerous jurisdictions is the lack of adequate or appropriate supports for families. In Canada, a Toronto Star investigation from 2016 exposed the inconsistent and inadequate nature of the government’s communications with the families of hostages, and not much has changed since then. Similar shortcomings have been identified by civil society organizations in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Israel.

These shortcomings are important to tackle. As hostage-taking continues, and indeed potentially ramps up for Israelis travelling abroad, ensuring that domestic legislation is up to par is a worthwhile endeavour.

With these crimes on the rise, effective and specific legislation to combat kidnapping would send a clear signal that such attempts are unacceptable and that combating them is a national priority.