Trump Administration Formally Lifts Sanctions on Sudan

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/us/politics/trump-sanctions-sudan.html

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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Friday that it would formally lift a host of sanctions against Sudan, concluding that decades of punitive efforts had done little to encourage reforms or fully resolve a conflict in the Darfur region that once inspired protests.

The rapprochement is among the few policies of its predecessors that the Trump administration has been eager to continue. The State Department announced a new strategy for Sudan in the last days of the Obama administration that included lifting sanctions, ending 20 years of hostile relations.

The reconciliation was set back briefly when the White House initially included Sudan this year among the list of countries subject to a travel ban. But last month the Trump administration removed Sudan from the list, the only country named in the initial ban to no longer face any restrictions.

In a briefing with reporters, State Department officials emphasized that while the Sudanese government was still far from perfect, there were enough signs of progress on several fronts to move forward. Those issues included the end of Khartoum’s attacks on civilians in Darfur and other areas, curbing its destabilizing activities in neighboring South Sudan and increasing its cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism issues.

“The government of Sudan’s actions during the last nine months show that it is serious about cooperating with the United States and has taken significant steps to stop conflict and improve humanitarian access within Sudan, and to promote regional stability,” said Heather Nauert, the State Department’s spokeswoman.

But she added, “Any further normalization of ties will require continued progress by the government of Sudan.”

Left unanswered by diplomats was why the rapprochement with Sudan was deemed worthy of continuing while similar détentes with Iran and Cuba have been either excoriated or partly reversed. State Department officials who on Friday briefed reporters on the Sudan policy said their expertise did not extend beyond Africa so they could not answer questions on Iran or Cuba.

The difference with Sudan may be that President Trump and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson have demonstrated little interest in Africa, allowing lower-level diplomats to push forward with a policy they and many academics support.

“Punishing an awful government may be justified and morally satisfying, but for two decades it hasn’t done much good,” said Zach Vertin, who helped forge the new Sudan policy during the Obama administration. “This policy is an attempt to chart a smarter, more nuanced approach.”

Trump administration officials asked the Sudanese government to stop buying weapons from North Korea, a request that was not part of the agreement with Khartoum as negotiated with the Obama administration. Even so, State Department officials emphasized that the North Korean issue would not have been a deal breaker since, as they said, it was important that the United States abide by previous commitments.

Sudan remains on a list of countries that are considered sponsors of terror, and a separate review is underway to determine whether it should be removed from that list, as Khartoum is eager to see. The terror designation means that restrictions remain on foreign assistance and defense sales. Sanctions specifically related to the conflict in Darfur also remain in place.

The sanctions, which had been under suspension and will be lifted permanently as of Oct. 12, include a trade embargo and the blocking of assets held by the Sudanese government that were put in place by executive order in 1997 and 2006. The hope is that by lifting the sanctions permanently, businesses will have the confidence to invest in Sudan, where infrastructure and other needs are acute.

Ibrahim Ghandour, the Sudanese foreign minister, said that “lifting the sanctions means lifting the extortion from the people of Sudan who long suffered from them.”

But Stuart Newberger, a Washington attorney who represents a dozen Americans killed in a 1998 truck bombing against the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, said the Trump administration should have secured a commitment that the Sudanese government would pay billions of dollars in court judgments from lawsuits filed by the victims of that attack and another in Tanzania. The victims claimed that Sudan provided support to the attackers, who were members of Al Qaeda; the attacks elevated Osama bin Laden to the F.B.I.’s Most Wanted list for the first time.

“The Trump administration has today not said a word about the judgments against Sudan,” Mr. Newberger said.

Top State Department officials promised they would press Sudan to resolve the issue.