Earlier this year, the Obama Administration made the unilateral decision to break with nearly three decades of U.S. foreign policy and ease sanctions on the government of Sudan. Today, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) held a hearing entitled “The Questionable Case for Easing Sudan Sanctions” to examine the reasons for this lifting, and to investigate the effects this will have on the people of Sudan and U.S. interests in the region.

     “The Obama administration, in its last days in office in January, purported to see justification in ending sanctions built over decades,” said Smith, Chairman of the House panel on Africa. “In its announcement of the easing of sanctions, the previous administration declared positive actions by the Sudan government in five key areas. Missing in this list of positive developments is improvement in the overall human rights situation in Sudan.” Click Here to Read Smith’s Full Statement.

     The Obama Administration’s decision to ease sanctions, a decision that also breaks with current U.N. policy, began implementation just three days before Obama left office requires full implementation within six months. The decision has received mixed reviews. Several experts on Sudan have noted that there has been insufficient time to review progress of the government, particularly in the context of achieving unimpeded humanitarian access to Darfur and other conflict areas. They also argue that easing financial pressure on the regime will allow it to further consolidate power and lessen U.S. leverage.

     “It is incumbent on the U.S. government to honestly consider the conditions under which sanctions easing is justified,” said Smith. “As stated earlier, the Government of Sudan is fully capable of meeting the requirements outlined in the January executive order, but we must be sure of the extent to which that government is abiding by them and urge them to do more where necessary. Various reports indicate that attacks on civilians, including sexual-based violence, continues by government and allied forces.”

     Brad Brooks-Rubin, the Policy Director at The Sentry, explained that in many cases, Sudan assists access to humanitarian crises in other countries more effectively than their own, “While the government of Sudan is allowing cross-border humanitarian access to areas in South Sudan affected by famine, humanitarian access for parts of Blue Nile and South Kordofan states remains restricted. The people in several isolated areas urgently need assistance and have been killed while moving through active conflict zones to find food and basic supplies.” Click Here to Read Brooks-Rubin’s Full Statement.

     David Dettoni, Senior Advisor at Sudan Relief Fund also highlighted the lack of assistance in war-torn regions of Sudan, “Since the implosion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the only type of “assistance” Khartoum has brought to the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile is military, and the guns, tanks, rockets, aerial bombardment is not meant to develop or grow individuals, but to maim, destroy, kill.” Click Here to Read Dettoni’s Full Statement.

     Mohammed Abubakr, President of the Africa-Middle Eastern Leadership Project, noted the areas where the government has not yet met their obligations. “The conditions tied to the sanctions relief, which made no demands on the government to address the daily violations of human rights, the suppression of the press, and the unlawful arrest and torture of activists and journalists. Such easing of sanctions without requiring any reforms in exchange hurts the very people that the sanctions were created to protect.” Click Here to Read Abubakr’s Full Statement.

     Ambassador Princeton Lyman, Senior Advisor to the President at U.S. Institute of Peace, explained the process of the dialogue, “The U.S. has not had a constructive dialogue with the Government of Sudan since 2013 when it engaged in the final stages of resolving the issues between Sudan and South Sudan. The Government of Sudan was largely impervious to one. This latest initiative, based on patient, hard work by the U.S., has reopened the dialogue. It is wisely not based on a full roadmap to normalized relations.” Click Here to read Lyman’s Full Statement.

     “Even though human rights improvement is not one of the requirements in the executive order, we must not as a government ignore this aspect. Successive administrations and Congresses have worked hard to ensure that human rights concerns in Sudan are addressed,” said Smith. “Now is not the time to abandon decades of work by men and women of good will in our government and the many American citizens who have supported our efforts.  We also must not forsake the welfare of the people of Sudan for whom our efforts all this time have been made.”

     Smith has chaired 10 hearings on U.S. policy toward Sudan since 2005. The most recent, entitled “U.S. Policy toward Sudan and South Sudan,” took place in 2014.

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