Tuesday’s announcement coincides with Human Rights Day, observed globally to mark the United Nations’ 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“The United States will always remain a staunch supporter of those who strive for their unalienable rights and human dignity,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. He singled out human rights abuses in China, Iran, Syria and Venezuela — all viewed by the administration as adversaries.

Among the people targeted in the sanctions unveiled Tuesday are a handful of military leaders in Myanmar accused in mass atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, hundreds of thousands of whom were forced to flee to Bangladesh in 2017. Those targeted include Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military forces.

Rao Anwar Khan of Pakistan also was sanctioned. According to the Treasury Department, as a senior police officer he staged “numerous fake police encounters in which individuals were killed by police, and was involved in over 190 police encounters that resulted in the deaths of over 400 people.” His alleged victims include Naqeebullah Mehsud, an aspiring model whose case drew outrage across Pakistan.

Others targeted include individuals in Libya, Slovakia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. Among them is Marian Kocner, a Slovakian businessman accused of hiring a hitman to murder of Jan Kuciak, a reporter investigating his suspicious dealings, as well as Kuciak’s fiancée, Martina Kusnirova.

The majority of the people targeted Tuesday face economic sanctions, meaning any assets they have in the United States will be frozen and Americans cannot do business with them. Some critics say such sanctions are of limited value, especially if the individuals have few ties to the American financial system. Still, many human rights activists say the symbolism alone of being sanctioned can deter other bad actors.

Others targeted in the latest announcement faced different types of penalties.

For instance, among those sanctioned is Mohammed al Otaibi, former consul general of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey. He is accused of complicity in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who contributed to The Washington Post. The sanctions imposed on Otaibi deem him and his immediate family members ineligible to enter the U.S.

In its latest actions, the administration is relying heavily on the Global Magnitsky law, which allows it to impose sanctions on individuals suspected of human rights abuses or corruption. An earlier version of the law applied to officials in Russia, but it was expanded late in the Obama administration, and the Trump administration has used it frequently.

The laws were inspired by the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died after being jailed and abused for his probing of corruption linked to the Kremlin.

On Monday, the Treasury Department announced a separate batch of sanctions, including some aimed at two Venezuelan officials. The sanctions relied in part on the Global Magnitsky law and were aimed primarily at alleged corrupt actors. The announcement was timed to coincide with International Anti-Corruption Day.

Human rights activists have mixed feelings about the Trump administration’s use of the Global Magnitsky tool.

They have been pleasantly surprised at the administration’s willingness to use it at all, especially given how often Trump himself has dismissed or seemed uninterested in human rights as an issue. But they’ve also noted the administration’s selective invocation of human rights, and how it often only raises the issue when it is politically convenient.

The administration has been unwilling to sanction Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia over his suspected role in the killing of Khashoggi, whose murder led to bipartisan fury in Congress. Trump has said Saudi Arabia is too important a partner, helping the U.S. stand up against Iran, as well as being a major purchaser of U.S. arms, to go after the crown prince.

But, under tremendous public pressure, the administration has imposed various sanctions on other Saudis believed involved in the October 2018 killing of Khashoggi.

Turkey, a fellow member of the NATO military alliance, is another example of where the Trump administration has offered mixed messages on sanctions.

Last year, Trump used Global Magnitsky to temporarily sanction two senior Turkish officials after the country failed to release an American Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, who’d been imprisoned on specious charges. The move was cheered on by evangelical Christians in the United States who make up a key segment of Trump’s electoral base. Brunson was eventually released.

But the administration has held off on sanctioning Turkey for its purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defense missile system. That has upset many members of Congress, who note that there is a law that requires such sanctions be imposed.