Sudan: World leaders take alarm at military coup

The United States has paused the delivery of $700 million in emergency economic support funds to Sudan, intended, it says, ‘to support the country’s democratic transition,’ in the wake of a coup by military forces lead by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the arrest of the civilian president, Abdallah Hamdok.

Sudan watchers say that the reimposition of sanctions against Sudan or coup leaders is a possibility.

A troika of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway issued a statement which ‘condemned the suspension of the institutions of state, the declaration of state of emergency, and the military forces detaining Prime Minister Hamdok as well as other members of the civilian leadership,’ and said that the actions of the military ‘represent a betrayal of the revolution, the transition, and the legitimate requests of the Sudanese people for peace, justice and economic development.’

The European Union has issued a similar statement which warned, ‘If the situation is not reversed immediately, there will be serious consequences for EU’s engagement, including its financial support.’

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) says that Sudan’s status as a State Sponsor of Terrorism was rescinded with effect from 14 December, 2020, and thus, ‘the prohibitions of the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 596, and section 906(a)(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7205) no longer apply to Sudan.’

Also, it points out,

‘Effective October 12, 2017, certain sanctions with respect to Sudan and the Government of Sudan – namely sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order (E.O.) 13067 of November 3, 1997 and all of E.O. 13412 of October 13, 2006 – were revoked, pursuant to E.O. 13761 of January 13, 2017, as amended by E.O. 13804 of July 11, 2017. This revocation of certain sanctions:  

• Does not affect OFAC sanctions related to the conflict in Darfur, which were imposed pursuant to E.O. 13400 of April 26, 2006 and pursuant to the national emergency declared in E.O. 13067, which remains in effect; and
• Does not affect OFAC’s imposition of sanctions on any Sudanese persons pursuant to sanctions authorities other than E.O.s 13067 and 13412.’

In a 2018 report based on fieldwork conducted shortly after the revocation of sanctions in 2017, the United States Institute of Peace found that ‘Sudan’s economic crisis has led to skepticism about the effectiveness of sanctions relief. Most interviewees feel the process that led to the lifting of sanctions lacked transparency and did not sufficiently involve or inform Sudanese outside the government-connected elite.’

It also found that many Sudanese ‘[felt] disappointed by the limited US action in response to recent government repression and lack confidence that the United States will hold Sudanese authorities accountable for violations of human rights and the rule of law, maintaining presidential term limits in the constitution, and holding credible elections in 2020.’